Opposites Attract
by Jewlzx16
Summary: James, though never able to express his feelings for Lily, has been head over heels for her since their 3rd year. Lily is convinced as ever that she hates James. But recently new feelings have risen to the surface for him, whether she likes it or not
1. Chapter 1

Opposites Attract

Chapter One

"Ready, Padfoot?" James asked, from one of the railings of the marble staircase, as he mussed up his already untidy hair, before slapping a second year Gryffindor boy high-five.

Sirius Black, who was perched on the top of the railing opposite James', brushed his ebony curls out of his baby-blues, and revealing his handsome features. He stopped a curvy-looking Hufflepuff by the waist, giving her a quick, flirtatious kiss, who blushed and giggled ver girlishly. Then, with a cocky smirk, he glanced back at James and replied:

"Ready, Prongs!"

With that, they slapped each other high-five, then leaned forward, and slid down the long, polished rails. They sped fast down the banisters, whooping and hollering, amid cheers from fellow classmates and younger students, and swooning girls.

"Whoohoo!" James screamed ecstatically, but his adrenaline rush did not last long as he spotted Lily Evans kneeling down, not to far from where he'd land at any moment. She had her wand drawn, as she healed a first-year boy's sliced and bleeding elbowe.

"Now, remember what I told you- no more playing with fanged frizbees." Lily said, smiling sweetly down at the young boy.

The first-year blushed furiously, and pecked her cheek, before muttering an embaressed, "Thanks, Lily!" then hurrying off to meet his friends.

"Lily! Look out!" James called out warningly, but it was a lost cause. He tried slowing down, but he was going too fast to stop.

James- much unlike Sirius, who landed suavely on his feet- slid off the end of the railing, and Lily let out a high-pitched scream as he collided with on the floor. Sirius would have done something to help if he hadn't been distracted by trying to impress a rather snooty-looking Ravenclaw.

"Wow," James thought, for what felt like the umpteenth time that week, blushing, "She's so beautiful."

James wasn't the only guy in the school who had a thing for Lily. Her beauty, modesty, wit, and kind-hearted nature warmed her to everyone around her. The younger students and teachers adored her, and she was often the girl in mostly all the upperclass males' fantasies. But what attracted James so much to her was that she was the only girl he knew he could never have.

Leaning over Lily, James ruffled his hair again, and felt the usual anxiety and determination to prove himself as he often did around LIly, unaware that the attention of the whole entrance hall was fixated on them. He watched her through keen hazel eyes, wondering what she would do if he stayed there, though he could probably already think of the outcome.

"Get off me, right now, Potter." Lily said in a deadly whisper, gritting her teeth angrilly.

"Why?" James asked her cockilly, grinning devilishly down at Lily, and more than a few students laughed.

"Because I said so, now move!" Lily snapped, attempting to sit up, but he was kneeling over her. She slapped his arm hard, leaving her hand-print on his skin.

"And if I don't?" James teased, pinning her down so she couldn't move. The students let out a round of cat-calls and wolf-whistles.

"Then I'll curse you so bad that you're whle family will feel it." Lily threatened James. When he made no attempt to move, Lily pushed him- much harder than necessary- off of her. "Grow up, Potter." Lily growled, "You're seventeen, not eleven."

And with that, Lily turned on her heels, and stormed up the marble staircase, her fiery red hair whipping behind her as she marched out of the entrance hall and out of sight.

"Why the hell do I have to screw everything up?" James cursed himself out loud, wanting to kick himself for how dumb he had just acted.

As if James didn't feel bad enough about himself already, Peeves the poltergeist decided to swoop in, chucking students undergarments- which he had most-likely stolen from the laundry room- at James, screeching, "OOH, ICKLY POTHEAD GOT REJECTED BY HIS CRUSHY-WUSHY...AGAIN!!"

"STUFF IT!" James bellowed angrilly, and Peeves disappeared through the ceiling, still cackling maniacally.

Angry, James stalked out of the entrance hall doors and out onto the grounds, regardless of the fact that it was after-hours, and too frusterated to notice that he had a pair of lacy panties hanging from his left ear.


	2. Chapter 2

((OOC: Thanks, I'm glad you guys liked it, heres the next chapter.))

Chapter Two:

"Hagrid!" James called, pounding the door to the game-keeper's hut with his fist impatiently. He waited a few minutes before calling his name again. "HAGRID!"

"Jus' a sec!" he heard Hagrid call from within the hut. James flinched slightly as Hagrid's humongous boarhound Fang slammed himself against the other side of the door, scratching, and barking loudly- trying to get to James.

"Back off! Back _off, _Fang!" Hagrid roared, and, in the hut, there was scuffle, as he attempted to drag Fang from the door, who continued barking. "Jus' a sec!" he repeated gruffly, and after a few minutes, the sound of locks sliding out of place sounded, and the door finally swung open.

"James!" Hagrid said excitedly, a wide grin- which was barely noticeable beneathe his wild, tangled beard- crinkling the corners of his soft beetle-black eyes. Before James even had the chance to return Hagrid's greeting, though, he was swept into a large, bone-crushing bear-hug by the friendly half-giant. James could feel his face reddening- not from embarressment, but from lack of oxygen.

"'Bin a while ain't it?" Hagrid continued on merrily, finally setting James down- who took a deep breath of fresh air- and allowing him into the hut, shutting the door behind him. "Sorry 'bou' tha'" Hagrid appologized, clapping James on the back, and making his knees buckle. "Don' know me own strength."

"It's great to see you- what are you staring at me for?" James asked suddenly, as Hagrid observed with a strange, unbelieving expression on his face.

"I'll never understand kids these days." Hagrid said, shaking his head in disbelief,as James- who was , though delighted to see Fang again, looked rather disgusted, seeing as how the dog was slobbering all over his robes- took a seat at the scrubbed wooden table.

"What are you talking about?" James asked, completely oblivious.

"So err... is wearing lingerie on 'yer ears the new fad?" Hagrid inquired , smirking, as he removed the thong from- where it indeed had been hanging- James' ear.

James looked at it and made a face, before continuing on, hastilly: "Never mind, that's not the point. You talk to Lily, don't you, Hagrid?"

"Yeah, tha's righ'. Vists me every-" Hagrid gave him a suspicious look."Ahh, no, James." Hagrid said anxiously. Don' go there. See, Lily's been a bit o' a bad spot."

"When isn't she?" James asked, sarcastically, "What is so hard that the most beautiful and adored girl in the school could be going through?"

"Well, fer' one, her sister shunned her. Fer' another, she's been stressing over all her Head responsibilities, and she and her boyfriend just split up."

"That poser?! Why, what happened?" James replied, shocked. He had seen Lily and her boyfriend snogging through the window of Madame Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade a week earlier.

"He wanted more than what Lily was giving him. When she said no, he didn't like it, so he dumped her." Hagrid said loathingly.

"Did he hurt her? So help me, God, if he so much as touched her, I'll-" James ranted angrilly, jumping up from his seat, causeing Fang to flinch and run into a corner with his tail between his legs.

"She's fine, but she's hurtin'" Hagrid replied, "'sides, you don't need another excuse for detention, eh?"

"So, what was it yeh' wanted to talk ter me abou'?" Hagrid asked, changing the subject.

"Just- just that I wanted to know...that if you got the chance- maybe you could talk to her. Get her to see I'm not as bad as she thinks?" James said.

"I will. Now, you better get off." Hagrid said, handing him a rock-cake for the walk back to the castle. "And be careful it's past hours. If Filch catches out this late again, he'll have yer' head."


	3. Chapter 3

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Three**

James cast a disillusionment charm on himself and silently slipped into the chilly autumn night through Hagrid's backdoor. Feeling bad for the way he had treated Lily earlier, he casually strode over the grounds and quietly entered the castle through the entrance hall door, peering cautiously with keen eyes before advancing any further. So far, so good.

He crept undetected across the entrance hall, until he reached the top landing of the marble staircase. James' eyes narrowed in annoyance as Mrs. Norris- the care-takers nuisance of a cat- came into view, her luminous gaze fixed unwaveringly upon him, knowing that- despite the fact that James was still cloaked by his charm- he was standing there. Careful not to make any sudden movement, James cast his eyes around in hope of inspiration, and spotted a pair of boxer-briefs on the helmet of a suit of armor, which Filch had obviously been too lazy- or too pissed off- to pick up after Peeves.

James grinned mischievously as an idea flickered into mind. He stared dead into the cats eyes, knowing very well that she knew that he was there. Mrs. Norris hissed, inching closer, and James summoned the boxers slyly, with his wand held aloft. He used a handy gluing spell- which he and Sirius had invented in their first year- to temporarily, but sufficiently stick the underwear to Mrs. Norris' head, obscuring her vision. Mrs. Norris hissed loudly, shaking her head roughly, trying to rid herself of the boxer-briefs.

As much as James would've enjoyed watching Mrs. Norris struggle, he couldn't afford waiting a minute longer- Filch was never far behind his cat, and James was not willing to risk detention- again. So, with a last, longing glance at Mrs. Norris, he quickly fled from the entrance hall.

James climbed the many flights of the Great Staircase, and made his way down the seventh floor corridor. When the Fat Lady's portrait came into view, he stopped. "Flabby crabs." He whispered, and the Fat Lady- who had been snoring gently- awoke with a start, shrieking: "Who said that? Where are you? What'd you say?"

"Oh!" exclaimed James. He withdrew his wand from his back pocket and lifted the disillusionment charm off of himself. Instantly James Potter's body rematerialized before the portrait, and the Fat Lady eased up.

"Ohh! Hello there, little Jammy!" The portrait trilled in fond, motherly voice, and James twitched at her annoying nickname for him, as she swung forward to emit him.

"Erm…Hi." James said, feeling rather awkward. "Aren't you going to ask me for the password or something?" He was taken aback- normally the Fat Lady would not permit anyone- even Gryffindors- entrance unless they supply her with the password.

"Oh, no, Jammy. I know who you are," The Fat Lady trilled annoyingly, "You can go right in. You must be exhausted."

"Erm thanks," James said, flashing her a grateful grin, before climbing through the hole and stepping into the Gryffindor common room. "Night!" he called over his shoulder, as she swung back into place. Loud snoring a moment later notified James that the Fat Lady had fallen asleep again, and he walked into the common room.

School robes were thrown carelessly on the floors and furniture, as well as shoes; a wizards chess set lay forgotten on a table, it's battered pieces scattered among the floor. An array of paper, quills, and bottles of ink were set among tables. The floor was littered with random sweets wrappers, pillows, and lord knows what else. This, however, was nothing new- at least not at the end of the day.

Usually packed with gossiping, joking, studying, or any other Gryffindors, the common room was quiet and empty. It was too late for anyone to be up, well past curfue, and the only evidence of their presence being there was the mess they had left behind them.

James sighed with relief, glad for the emptiness of the common room, and plopped down on a couch carelessly, drooping himself over it lazily. He didn't feel like going up to his dormitory- he knew that Sirius, Peter, and Remus would be waiting up to hear what James had been doing for the four hours that he was absent, and, frankly, James wasn't in the sharing mood.

He loved them, they were like brothers to him-true, but he really wasn't up to their odd therepy. Sirius would not take James seriously, he'd made a joke out of it; Remus would give him a long, boring lecture about sensibility and how to act like a gentleman around Lily, and Peter- well, for lack of a better explanation- was just Peter.

Something still felt out of place, though. James shifted his position so he was sprawled across the couch on his stomach, with his head buried beneath a pillow, then sat back up again, looking around. _Oh yeah, that's right, _James thought, pulling off his sneakers and tossing them across the room, causing them to knock over the wizards chess set.

"Why Dumbledore made you Head Boy, I'll never know. You set a horrible example for the first years, not to mention act like one." A disdainful voice came from a nearby armchair, sending a chill down James' spine.

He stood up, looking for the person who had spoke, though he already knew whom the voice belonged to. He spotted her after a minute, curled up in a comfy armchair beneath a pile of blankets, her head bent over a large, heavy textbook, wand tip lit. "Lily." James said, grinning.

"Since when have we been on first name basis?" Lily said coldly, not looking up from her book. "Only my friends call me that."

"Oh, yeah! That's right!" James added sarcastically, obviously annoyed by her comment. "Forgive me your highness. I forgot that apologies are above you, would you like me to bow before your feet and lick your shoes?"

"Shut up." she snapped, chucking the book at him, and he ducked artfully out of the way.

"You know what the sad thing is?" James said annoyedly, glaring at her. "I felt bad when I heard about your fight with your sister and about your breakup. But if you act like such a freak around them as you do around me then I really don't blame them."

With that, he left her alone, departing for the boys dormitory, leaving her hurt and stung.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

James, Sirius, and Remus kneeled down infront of a long, low table in the Gryffindor common room, heads bent over textbooks and homework. Well, two of the three were, anyway. James Potter was staring blankly into space, preoccupied with his thoughts, biting the end of his quill absentmindedly.

He hadn't seen Lily all day- not even in Charms, her favorite subject. Wosrt of all was the idea that her absense probably was due to his comment last night, and felt terrible that he had inflicted such pain on someone he cared so much about.

The portrait hole swung open, followed by a clatter as someone climbed- or rather fell- through the hole. James looked up hopefully, half-expecting to see Lily in all her red-headed glory, but hung his head as Peter rushed into the common room, collapsing on a couch, looking sweaty and nervous, causing fluff from a hole in the furniture to fly across the room.

"You talk to Lily, right?" James asked Remus exasperatedly, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Why does she hate me so much?"

"Well," Sirius said, grinning, "It could be that she hates pick-up lines and you constantly hound her all day."

"No," James said, scowling at his best friend, "You hit on her twice a week and she has no problem talking to you."

"Or it could be the fact that she thinks you are the most self-absorbed, annoying, insensitive jerk that walked the corridors of the school." Remus replied sarcastically, smirking at James.

"Shut up, Moony!" James said mock-annoyance, pretending to flick Remus in ignorance. "Well, at least I'm open about who I like."

"And we all know I am." Sirius said, cockily, tugging the besocked foot of a pretty, ebony-haired sixth-year. "Isn't that right... erm- what's your name again?"

The girl giggled stupidly, and nudged his hand away with her foot playfully.

"_Right._" James said, turning to Remus again, grinning. "I've seen you scoping out Lily's friend. You've been watching her for weeks now."

"What are you talking about?" Remus said, his cheeks dusting crimson as he blushed. "I haven't been watching Lauren." His quill was poised over his parchment, but he was too nervous to write.

"Then how do you know I'm talking about Lauren?" James challenged, his eyes glistening with amusement. He was enjoying this. "I never mentioned her name."

Remus' gaze momentarilly flickered over to where it had been absentmindedly wandering for the past half an hour. H watched Lauren tie her light brown hair in a ponytail before opening a book and diving into it, curled up in an armchair like a cat.

He sighed exasperatedly, glancing back down at his half-finished essay. "It doesn't matter," Remus said half-heartedly, looking despirited. "She has a boyfriend already."

"So? That Hufflefluff has nothing on you!" Sirius joked, grinning. "Besides, you're a lycan! You have sex appeal!"

Remus glared ignorantly at Sirius- was he just _trying _to get him expelled? James too looked uncomfortable, and he changed the subject without smiling, causing Sirius to pout in a very, almost-spoiled manner.

"Have you guys seen Lily anywhere?" James asked, looking uneasy. "I haven't seen her anywhere. Not even in our classes!"

"No, but Lauren said that she was crying last night," Remus said sympathetically, empathetic for Lily. "She said she tried talking to Lily about it, but Lily just wanted to be left alone and she didn't come to class...or breakfast. Lauren had to bring it to her, and force her to eat. You really have a way with words, James."

James glared at Remus, but then grinning, causing his friend to flinch. Remus knew that face all too well. James had an idea- and by the looks of it, it wasn't a good one- well, at least not for Remus.

"OI! LAU-LAU!" James called to Lauren, who scrunched up her face in agitation. She hated James' annoying nickname for her. He had always called her that. When they were too young to be annoyed but one another's habits, he couldn't pronounce her name right, and he'd call her Lau-Lau instead. Of course, James could pronounce "Lauren" now, but it had stuck with him, and plus, it annoyed the hell out of her, which was always a good thing.

"I told you not to call me that anymore!" Lauren snapped agitatedly, chucking a pillow across the room at him, and James had to duck to avoid it.

"Would you prefer Ren-Ren, then?" James said sharply, and the color drained from Lauren's face. She glance around the common room frantically, as if afraid someone might over-hear. Then, in a low voice, she said, "What do you want now? Lily's panties?"

James considered this for a second. He would much prefer having to wear Lily underwear on his head then someone's random, dirty ones. But then he continued, "Remmy, here (Remus flinched at the nickname- it was the same one his mother used for him) has something to say to you."

Lauren turned to Remus, her expression softening somewhat. She and him were friends. They were partners for potions, and, surprisingly shared alot in common. Reading, for one thing, was one of them. Both of them enjoyed reading, and alot of their free time was spent reading in the library or elsewhere. Another, for instance, was that the two of the shared a very sarcastic sense of humor. "What is it?" she asked, in a much softer tone than just a few seconds before.

"Umm, nothing much. I just- I just heard that book wasn't very good." Remus invented, quickly, stumbling embaressedly over his words, blushing furiously.

"Oh. Well I guess you're right." Lauren said, sounding disappointed. She closed the book and placed it on the table beside her, and sat in silent contemplation. Then, upon her decision, Lauren stood up with the book and started making her way to the portrait hole, intending to return the book and get a new one when James stopped in the corridor outside.

"Lau-Lau! Wait!" James panted, almost falling out of the portrait hole, and at her feet.

"What now?" Lauren snapped.

"Will you still get Lily's panties?" James asked, grinning hopefully.

"NO!" Lauren exclaimed, and she left for the library, annoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

"Come on, Lily!" Lauren enthused, half-dragging her disgruntled friend down the dormitory stairs. After half an hour of complaining and enduring Lauren's odd persuasion tactics, Lily brushed her hair and finally agreed to eat dinner in the great hall. However, she refused to change into clothes, and entered the dining hall- Lauren's arm hooked in hers- wearing her favorite plaid flannel pajama pants, a plain white t-shirt, and fuzzy blue slippers.

"I hate you!" Lily grumbled to Lauren, obviously still annoyed by the fact that Lauren had managed to pry her from the confines of her bed, dragging her along to dinner. 

Lauren shrugged Lily's cold remark off carelessly, grinning with self-satisfaction and joy. She knew Lily wasn't mad ar- she'd feel much more friendly after a full meal. "Nah." Lauren said, smirking slightly, "You love me."

As the two took their seats at the Gryffindor table, both were met with greetings. Lily especially- everyone was sympathetic- and eager to know what had happened that was so bad that Lily would skip class over it.

"Geez! Let the girl eat, won't you? What are you? Gossip-vultures?" Lauren snapped at the gossip-starved Gryffindors, as they fired question after question at Lily. They sighed in disappointment and returned to their meals, occasionaly whispering back and forth to one another, whispering the most ridiculous theories about Lily and James' lastest feud.

"What!" Lily snapped at a curious sixth-year boy who had been staring at her for the past five minutes. Lily turned to Lauren, goraning: "See? I told you this was a bad idea!"

"No! It's not!" Lauren said, pouting. "Besides, I got lonely. You know I don't like talking to these ga guzt!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Lily apologized, smiling inspite of herself, amused by Lauren's colorful vocabulary.

The twosome looked up as a couple of Hufflepuff girls made their way over to them. One of them had blonde curls that fell below her shoulders, blue eyes, an athletic figure, and what looked like a minimum of five pounds of make-up. Her friend had straight, shiny brown hair and green eyes, and sported her friends tacky amount of make-up. Despite the great contrast between the two girls, they had two things in common. Both had the reputation of being the dumbest- and easiest girls in their year.

The first thing Lily noticed was that- as usual- the girls were skimpilly dressed (they still wore some of the uniform skirts from when they were younger so that they were super short, and they had ditched their ties and school-robes, undoing the bottom buttons of their shirts and tying the ends so that their belly-buttons were visible) and both were smacking on a piece of Droobles Best Blowing Gum. The next thing she picked up on was that Mitzy and Margot's other friend Mandy was missing from the group.

Mandy Stillman was the ring-leader of the three. With wavy jet-black hair and icy-blue eyes, Mandy was the only one of her two minions to have at least an adequate I.Q. Mandy was just as beautiful as Lily, if not more, but everyone forgot about her because she was such a slut.

"Erm- hey, Mitzy and- erm...Margot?" Lily said awkwardly, obviously discomforted by the girls presence. "Where's Mandy?"

"Whatever. She's at the hospital wing. She caught some weird cold or whatever." Mitzy said, looking annoyed by the question, pulling absentmindedly at a blonde curl.

"Oh!" Lily said, not even wanting to fathom why or how Mandy got 'sick'. "That's too bad."

"Yeah, "Mitzy said distractedly, twirling her hair. "Well...me and Margot heard about what James said."

"And me and Mitzy thought that it was, like, so rude." Margot said. "So we just wanted to give you this."

Unexpectedly, and quite awkwardly, the two swooped down and briefly hugged Lily before turning away in unison. "That was, like, so nice of us." Mitzy siad, unintelligently, as they walked off, and Lily could hear Margot reply softly, "Totally."

"Don't you find it amazing how contagious stupidity is?" Lauren asked Lily, obviously annoyed. "Seriously! I could practically feel my brain melting as they talked."

"Eww, I know. I just took a shower earlier." Lily groaned, looking down at her pajamas in disgust, even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. "Now I'll have to take another one and get new PJ's to get rid of their skank-scum!"

Just then, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James entered the great hall, and Lily narrowed her eyes into angry slits. "You know what? I'm done- I'm not even hungry." Lily started to get up, but Lauren pulled her down stubbornly.

"No, Lily!" Lauren said in her most annoying baby voice. "'Dis' is a fork, and 'dis' is a knife. See? You use them to cut up your steak. Steak good- we eat steak. Yeah!"

Lily stared at Lauren incredulously, blinking a few times before responding. "I don't want my steak." Lily said stubbornly, crossing her arms, and holding her head up high, nose in the air.

"Lily, you have to eat!" Lauren exclaimed, digging into her own steak and mashed potatoes hungrilly. "Not eating is unnatural!"

"Maybe for you." Lily said, standing up and leaving the table, and regretting immediately she had accidentally called James' attention to herself.

"Hey! Lily!" James called, half-running over to meet her. "Wait up! I need to talk to you!"

Lily averted his gaze artfully, staring straight ahead as she walked toward the heavy oak doors leading to the entrance hall, her slippers muffling her steps. However, James' long strides were much quicker than her own, and he easilly caught up, gently grasping her hand to prevent her from getting any farther.

"What!" Lily shrieked irrateably, wrenching her hand from his grasp and glaring daggers at James. "Dont you have someone else's life to ruin...again?"

"Yea-no!" James stammered, tripping over his words. "I just want to talk."

"Really? That's so great!" Lily said sarcastically. "Because I really don't care."

"Come on!" Remus begged, looking sincere. "Please just listen to him. Just for me? He kept me up all night last night because he kept moaning about you."

"Fine." Lily sympathized, then turning to James, her expression annoyed. "You have thirty seconds."

"Phew," James sighed with relief, flashing Lily his most charming grin, but she remained as resistant as ever. "Thank you so much!"

"...Ten..." Lily said sharply, impatiently tapping her beslippered foot.

"Oh! Right!" James panicked. "Ummm, well- you know that thing where you do something wrong and you feel bad, so you want to make it better?"

"Apologize?" Lily offered.

"Yeah, that!" James enthused. "I wanted to apologize for being such a jerk. I'm really sorry and I didn't mean it. I was having a really bad day, and it was really just the worst time for you to insult me."

He said all this in a very quick, nervous manner; and Lily blinked a few times at him, unphased, having obviously not understood a word he had said.

"I'm sorry," James repeated breathlessly, giving Lily another sweet grin. "Do you forgive me?"

At first, it looked like Lily was going to retort, but she glanced at Remus and sighed with exasperation. "Fine. But I'm still not talking to you." she said.

"Yay!" Lauren squealed delightedly, grinning brightly. She dragged Lily back to their bench at the Gryffindor table, and pulled her into the seat next to her. "Now we- I especially- can eat!"

Lily sighed exasperatedly, but smiled at her fried's weirdness before digging into her meal. That's the good thing about Hogwarts- your food never got cold.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

"Lily, get up!" Lauren snarled agitatedly, throwing a slipper at her slumbering friend. No response. Lauren growled and sat none-too-gently on Lily's stomach.

"YES!" Lauren cried triumphantly as Lily grunted, but her victory was short-lived, as Lily rolled overin her sleep and resumed snoozing.

"OQQ! You little butt-munch!" Lauren groaned in pain as she rolled off the side of the bed and collided with the floor. "That's it," she growled, her face set.

Lauren plunged her fist into her robes' pocket and withdrew her wand, her face oddly square-shaped like it always was when she got mad. She aimed her wand at Lily, smriking slightly, as if at Lily's demise, and chanted: "Aguamenti!"

Instantly, a fountain of cold, icy-blue water spotued from the tip of Lauren's wand. Lily gasped with shock and jumped out of her bed as if bitten by something as the icy water hit her face. "Lauren!" Lily snapped, running to retrieve her uniform and rushing to the bathroom to get changed, then grabbing her backpack from the corner and snatching up her wand from her bed-side table. She needn't bother with brushing her hair or putting on make-up the muggle way, despite the fact she usually did because her parents were muggles, she didn't have time, and that's what wands were handy for. Breathlessly, she brushed her tousled straight red hair using magic, and then, through the same process, applied make-up. As much as she liked doing things natural way, Lily had to admit that magic did have its benefits- her hair and make-up- which normally would have taken at least twenty minutes to do- came out twice as nice as it would have been if she did it by hand, and within a matter of seconds. Breathlessly, she rushed down the dormitory stairs, taking two steps at a time, and met Lauren in the common room, who tapped her foot impatiently, looking annoyed.

"You really need an alarm clock, or whatever it is that you called it." Lauren said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Lily, "Remind me to get you one for your birthday."

Lily rolled her eyes, too, in return. "I already have one, remember? Electrical devices don't work in Hogwarts, there's too much magic- it'll make them go wonky." Lily reasoned.

"Lily, I don't speak Muggle-nese!" Lauren joked, smirkingly. "I don't know what ecklestacy is."

"Electricity," Lily corrected her, laughing. "I suppose I don't have time for breakfast then, either, eh?"

"Yes and no." Lauren teased. She laughed at her own little joke, and as usually Lily was completely oblivious to waht her friend found so amusing. When Lauren realized this, she said with exasperation: "You missed breakfast, but I brought you a granola bar...brat."

Most people would be offended by Lauren, or marked her off as self-centered or ignorant, but Lily knew her more than that. Lauren had a very wry sense of humor, and she often pretended she was annoyed by Lily, but was really amused. Besides, it was like a little game they had- they'd call each other names and tease one another, merely to entertain themselves.

"Thank-you, Lauren!" I love you!" Lily said, smiling, and taking the granola bar gratefully. She started munching on it as they walked down the marble staircase and into the Entrance Hall. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Lauren muttered under her breath.

As Lily finished the last of her granola, they turned left and entered the potions dungeon, where Proffessor Slughorn, in all his flamboyancy and splendor, stood infront of theclass, writing out all the ingriedients they would need for the days' lesson.

Everyone, seldom Lauren and Lily, had already seated along the many long tables, cauldrons already set up and placed upon a fire. Even Remus, Sirius, and James were there. Proffessor Slughorn look up at them as they entered, smiling kindly.

"I've already assigned partners. Lauren, you can work with Remus." he indicated the seat next to Remus at the far end of the room where he sat alone, smiling shyly at Lauren and waving. Lauren caught Lily's glance and shrugged, then took her seat next to Remus, where they started talking quietly, smiling.

Lily, however, was not so happy with Lauren's arrangement- only two empty seats were left, one of which she was not very keen of occupying. Both James and Severus had no partners. Lily crossed her fingers behind her back and began silently praying to herself.

"Miss Evans, you can work with Severus. Our top students should make quite a lovely team." Slughorn said and Lily sighed with relief.

She took her seat with Severus, smiling kindly. Severus' face lit up with delight, and- much to James' disgust and anger- love. He watched as the two of them talked casually, Severus grinning from ear to ear with that sappy, love-sick look on his face, Lily laughing occassionally.

Lily Evans and Severus Snape had been best friends since before they had even went to school together. They lived not too far from one another as well. Everyone, seldom Lily, knew of Severus' crush on her, but she remained completely oblivious about his secret feelings for her. The mere fact that Lily was more affectionate towards a slimy Slyther-git than to him maddened James.

Flushed with anger, James stood up from his table, addressing Slughorn. "What about me, sir?! Peter's in the hospital wing because he got his butt whooped by Brittany Tyler again! I need a partner!" Lily glared at James angrilly, but Slughorn did not take notice of this.

"Ahh, yes!" Proffessor Slughorn said, smilingly. "Brittany Tyler- excellent student, excellent! Right then- you can work with Severus and Miss Evans!"

"What?!" Lily snapped. Severus looked like a little kid that had just been denied a real treat, and he glared loathinginly at James as he plopped down in the chair opposite her with an annoyingly false grin on his face.

"How are you, love?" James asked Lily charismatically, grinning charmingly before turning to Severus, his expression contorted as though some foul-smelling odor was lingering about. "And...errr...it."

"Stuff it, Pothead!" Lily growled, shoving a cdead cockroach into his mouth, and he gagged, spitting it out and slapping her hand away.

"Don't touch her!" Severus snarled furiously, kicking James roughlyunderneathe the table, causing James to curse loudly, his eyes bulging with pain.

"That will be enough you three!" Slughorn said sharply, narrowing his eyes at the bickering group. "Now get back to work, you're at least three steps behind the rest of the class."

James peered over the contents of the cauldron as Lily did. Her face was right there- right infront of him. So was her mouth. He licked his lips nervously, his mouth feeling suddenly dry. As Lily glared at the puke-colored, lump potion froth and bubble disgustingly, he smirked, knowing that what he was about to do would drive Lily and Severus over the deep end- but it would be so worth it.

"I'm sorry, Lily-" James said, grinningly, "How about we just kiss and make-up?"

"Over my dead body, Skidmark!"" Lily said in a low-growl, as Severus gripped the edges of his stool so tightly that his knuckles were, gritting his teeth in an attempt to maintain control over himself.

James grabbed Lily by the neck before she had time to react, and pressed his lips against her in a searing kiss. James' stomach was reeling, and his head spun with excitement and giddiness. "This is so much better than being bit by a whizbee." James thought to himself, feeling as though a violent, but exhilerating electrical shock had gone through him.

Severus and Lily, however, were not as thrilled. Lily squirmed with disgust and anger, and she pulled his already untidy hair painfully, causing James to pull away from her, howling. Severus stood up with such ferocity-v his face contorted with outrage- that he tipped over the table and the cauldron, its' contents spilling out and seeping onto the floor, burning holes in the wooden floor and soles of students' shoes.

By now, the entire class had erupted into pandemonium, except for Remus and Lauren, who both hid beneath their table, cursing the immaturity of people as a flustered Slughorn futiley attempted to regain control over the class. Students stood ontop of their chairs and desks, whooping and hollering with excitement, showering the room with rainbow of multi-colored sparks shooting from their wands, egging Lily, James, and Severus on. Sirius was the roudiest of them all, jumping up and down on his desk, screaming half-jokingly: "Woohoo!! Take you top off!"

Lily plunged her fist into her pocket, drawing her wand from its' depths like a sword. She aimed it deliberately at James' throat and he suddenly stopped, the consequence of his actions finally sinking in with a feeling of regret. Just as Lily was about to hex James into oblivion, she felt someone lower her arm gently, caringly. She turned to see Severus, still livid with James, and looking mildly out of sorts. "Don't waste your breath on that scum- he's not worth it. Don't lower yourself for him." Severus said breathlessly.

He pulled Lily into his arms, stroking her hair gently, enjoying the feel of her heartbeat against his own. Their closeness sent a cold shiver down his spine, and he wanted to melt right into Lily and stay that way forver.

"Thanks, Sev'." Lily sniffed, pulling away from him and giving him a weak smile. "You're such a good friend. I don't know what i'd do without you."

Lily didn't notice Severus bristle and stiffen up when she referred to him as her "friend," but the word alone was enough to break his heart and he hung his head morosely.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class and Lily, Snape, James, and the rest of the class all made a beeline for the door to rush to their next classes, but Lily, James, and Severus were all held back.

"Twenty points will be taken from Gryffindor- ten from each of you. And another ten points will be withdrawn from Slytherin." Slughorn said disappointedly.

"As for you two, " Slughorn continued, indicating James and Lily. "I- along with the other professor I am sure- will agree that they are quite fed up with your incessant bickering. Both of you are two immediately report to Proffessor Dumbledore's office. You are dismissed."

Lily glared at James furiously as they exited the dungeons together- so much for her flawless discipline record. She wasn't going to let go of this one easilly- not even for Remus- or anyone for that matter. She was so mad that she couldn't even find the words to speak, let only think. Oh yes- he was going to pay dearly for this after they left the Headmaster's office- she would ensure that. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

James was silent for the entire walk to Dumbledore's office, knowing enough not to do anything that would upset Lily any furher. He had already learned from past experience not to piss her off when she was already at boiling point. He even had the scars to prove it- not that he _would _show just anyone- they were in a place which he generally did not display to puublic.

When they reached the stone gargoyles flanking the the staircase leading to the Headmaster's office, James supplied them with the password (Fizzing Whizbees). The gargoyles took on a life of its' own (literally) and hopped out of the way, permitting them entrance. Together, they mounted the spiral staircase until they reached the top landing. They knocked on the heavy oak double doors- which opened immediately of their own accord- and the entered the familiar circular room.

The room was lined with shelves of books and a number of strange objects of which neither of the two had even the slightest idea as to what they were. Comfortable armchairs were placed here and there, and desks were piled with an array of parchment, quills, and various bottles of different-colored ink. Fawkes the phoenix stood on his golden perch proudly, as magical and beautiful as ever, and bizarre silver instruments hung from the ceiling, emitting loud noises and large puffs of smoke.

Portraits of the past Headmasters- whom pretended to be sleeping, or otherwise slyly flitting in and out of their frames when they belived no one was looking- chanced raising their eyelids, half-way, and listening alertly, trying to catch a glimpse or sound of what was currently going on in their school. And- more intriguing than anything- was the tall winding staircase leading to the second floor of Dumbledore's office- where no one, not even James, nor any of the supporting members of the Marauders had ventured, but only guessed that it was where Dumbledore lived.

The Headmaster was not seated yet, nor was he in the office at all, apparently, and James was strongly tempted to ditch Lily, find his way upstairs, and explore the confines of Dumbledore's underwear drawer. Think the school would be interested to know what their Headmaster wore under his robes? You bet. Better yet- forget the school's newspaper- that would surely be worth the front page of the Daily Prophet. James could imagine it already: "Famed and Loved Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, Sports This Seasons' New Line of 'Butt-floss!!'" James didn't know if he should be repulsed or amused.

James cast a deprived, longing glance up at the staircase again and hung his head defeatedly- he was in enough trouble as it was, and he didn't want to add to it, especially if Lily was there to witness it. However, he did not have much longer to dwell on it- as a distraction in the form of a tall, thin old man dressed in long wizards robes of red velvet. But- despite Dumbledore's awkward appearance, he looked even more odd than usual with his long silvery hair tied into a loose ponytail at the back of his head with what appeared to be lacy, black woman's lingerie.

Lily and James exchanged an awkward glance as Dumbledore- the bottoms of his robes lifted above his pale, knobbly shaved knees- descended the stairs, can-can style, screeching: "Vouz-les vous couches avec moi? Ce soir? Vouz-les vous coucher avec moi?" James and Lily stood rooted to the spot, obviously stunned by their Headmaster's even-more-than-usual behaviour, as he danced his way down the stairs, completely oblivious of their presence.

"He met marmylade down in old Moulin Rouge, strutting her stuff on the street..." Dumbledore continued singing enthusiastically. "...Gitchi, gitchi, yaya dada! Mocha choca- haaa...ba...da...bahhh..." Dumbledore stumbled over the lyrics when he spotted James and Lily, still awestruck, freezing for a moment, shocked. Then, quite unexpectedly, upon gathering himself- he smiled welcomingly- as if they hadn't walked in on him, singing and dancing to Lady Marmylade- and said kindly: "Morning Ms. Evans... Mr. Potter...again."

"Lady Marmylade... I must say- I find the song quite exhilerating. Ahh, yes, the French are highly amusing." he said conversationally, his tone, as ever, light and casual, his blue eyes twinkling kindly. "Do you know it?"

"No," James said automatically. Not only did he not know the lyrics, but he had no idea what a Lady Marmylade was. Was it the bands' name? Was it the song? And who on earth gave a gitchy-gitchy yaya, or whatever it was called about it, James thought, perplexedly. He didn't spend too much time thinking about it. As far as James was concerned, the only band worth knowing was the Weird Sisters- an exremely popular and famous wizarding rock-band.

Lily, on the contrary, did know it. Quite well actually. Whenever her Aunt Sadie got drunk, she'd take off her wig, swinging it round and round, as she sang to the song and danced on the table. "Yes," Lily said, with a giggle, smirking slightly. James raised his eyebrow at this- apparently, Lady Marmylade did not satisfy his taste in music.

"Marvelous song...marvelous..." Dumbledore ranted on, before changing the subject. "Ahh, yes! So, to what reason do I owe the honor of your presence?"

"James started a row with me and my friend in Potions, Sir!" Lily said accusingly, glaring at James ignorantly.

"Did not!" James protested furiously.

"And you kissed me!" Lily snarled disgustedly. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life washing my mouth out to get rid of your scum!"

"You're the one being all buddy-buddy with that Slythergit Snivellus! It's not fair!" James complained, color rising in his cheeks from anger.

"Don't call him that!" Lily snapped angrilly, her wand rocketing out of her pocket of it's own accord, sending a shower of red sparks in her frustration.

"Ohh...what are you gonna do?" James sneered, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "Give me a bit of your Flower-power? You couldn't hurt me- or anyone for that matter- you don't have the guts for it!"

"Wanna bet? I've kicked your sorry hide before, and I'll do it again." Lily shot back, her brilliant green eyes reduced to narrow slits.

"Woow," James drawled, his tone casual, though his expression fluctuated, revealing slight anxiety, knowing very well that she could hurt him if she was provoked- but that's only because he refused to harm her. Too bad the feeling wasn't mutual. "I'm soo..scared."

Lily was just about ready to lunge at him, when Dumbledore intervened, raising his loudly as they fired insult after insult at each other, and they both fell silent immediately. "As amusing as I find your little spat, I don't believe that Professor Slughorn, nor any of the rest of the staff would agree. In accordance to this, your disrupting the class is becoming too regular and undoubtedly, as much as I hate to say this, cannot go unpunished."

"You're not going to take my badge away, are you?" Lily whimpered, her eyes glazed over, and her voice weak- it looked as though she were about to cry and lips trembled as she waited for his response.

"No- of course not." Dumbledore said dismissively, smiling bemusedly down at them with such calmness and amiability that it was almost annoying. "No, my punishment is much more effective than that. I daresay you might not be very happy with me for a while, but in the long run, you'll be grateful for it."

Lily turned pale as a ghost as all the blood drained from her face. Her stomach plummeted and her heart felt as though a metal fist has clenched around it. She waited on baited breath for the sentence of their punishment, knowing that it would'nt be well. All of Dumbledore's mad schemes made her nervous, and this one wasn't any less worse. She glanced at James, who hadn't spoken a word since Dumbledore had silenced them- a great feat for someone like him.

Dumbledore raised his elegantly-designed, highly-polished wand, and flourished it gracefully, a long rope of shimmering blue-white flames flickering from the tip. Lily's eyes widened with with shock and fear as the Binding Spell shot towards her and James, winding itself around their wrists, drawing them closer together, until their wrists were invisibly conjoined by the magic, and they stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"A-A Binding Spell?!" Lily stammered, her lips trembling as she struggled to bite back a moan of despair, tears leaking through her eyes. "Professor, no! Please just take away my badge!" Lily wailed mortifiedly, hurting James' ears.

"Oh no, no, no..." Dumbledore insisted, smiling. "Ah, yes- the circumstances! You two.." he said cheerily, "will have to do everything together-eat, sleep, study, attend classes, visit Hogsmeade- "

"Use bathrooms?!" James injected excitedly, breaking his silence.

"No!" Dumbledore said at the same time that Lily began hyperventilating. He spoke with such sharpness that James nearly flinched- almost. James hung his head disappointedly and the Headmaster continued. "All of your every-day activities will be carried out with the exception of activities which require privacy- so there are no confusions: showering, using bathrooms, changing."

James cursed under his breath, but with a stern look from Dumbledore, he silenced, and gave him his most winning grin- with uneffected results.

"Consequences are reasonable- the good and bad of which you will have to discover for yourselves." Dumbledore said smilingly. "So, now-off with you!"

Lily, by now, had already skated past shock and self-pity, and was seriously pissed off. Too angry to say goodbye, or anything to the Headmaster she so adored for that matter, turned on her heels with snap, and dragged James along out of the office. He didn't bid Dumbledore farewell, but mouthed the silent words: "Thank you!" as a beeming Dumbledore waved them off, blissfully ignorant as always.

"I want to study," Lily growled, wanting-needing anything to keep her mind off of what she had just endured. She highly doubted that would be able to concentrate, or read at all with how angry she was at that moment, but it was better than nothing- just being so close to James made her skin crawl with disgust and annoyance.

"Well I'm supposed to be meeting my friends outside- you can study there." James said happily, his grin broader than ever, as he rushed down the stairs, trying to keep up with Lily's quick pace.

"Whatever," she muttered in response- she had to meet Lauren there anyways.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

James sat beside Lily on the lawn, plucking out blades of grass, looking thoroughly bored and annoyed. He had been spending the past hour and a half listening to lily and Lauren's aimless prattling and endless verbal abuse towards him. Glancing at Lauren he noticed that she, too, lacked interest in Lily's rantings. Lauren's expression- much like his own- was blank and unresponsive, merely replying every once in while with an "mmhm" so Lily wouldn't think she was being ignored.

"Honestly!" Lily ranted furiously. "He's the most foul, insubordinate, loathesome toerag I have ever had the misfortune of meeting!"

"Yes, Lily, I know." Lauren sighed exasperatedly, watching a billywig whiz by helicopter-like among a patch of flowers not too far off from where they were sitting. "I live right next to him, remember?"

"Yeah?" Lily scoffed ignorantly, too bothered to callm down. "But at least he doesn't stalk and harass you."

"Not exactly." Lauren said, a flicker of annoyance passing her expression. Sometimes Lily could be so vain. " Besides, I have it worse- he uses me like some kind Lily-pedia and he bugs me whenever he's bored, trying to get me to join in on one of his mad schemes to win you over. As if!"

"You know," James injected dully, "would it actually kill you to talk about me when I'm not sitting right next to you?" Both Lauren and Lily glared up at him and he dropped the subject immediately, alarmed. The last thing he needed was for both of them to _physically_ attack him.

As if on cue, the perfect distraction arrived in the form of two teenagers approaching singing animatedly to some song in Japanese that none of them knew. One of the two- a girl of about seventeen with short dark hair with bangs that fell into her warm brown eyes, poked the other as they strode down to where James, Lily, and Lauren sat, waering a red geisha dress over a pair of black pants and her hair held into a tight bun with two decorative chopsticks.

Her boyfriend- a tall Japanese boy with chocolatey-brown hair and light brown eyes and braces- was still dressed in school uniform pants and dress shirt, though he had ditched his robes in his dormitory. However- he wore his uniform with more of a stylish flare- the first four top buttons of his white shirt were undone, revealing just a hint of his muscular figure, and his tie hung carelessly untied from his neck. The rugged-casual outfit made up for an effortlessly cool stlye, but not in a way that he was trying to show off.

"Shuyin, I love you!" Brittany Tyler crooned cheerily, pinching her cheek affectionately, grinning broadly.

"You too, B-chun!" He returned, stealing a quick kiss from her and she blushed and giggled in an uncharacteristically girlish way.

The oddest thing about Brittany was the traditional japanese geisha appearance of her attire, when it was so obvious not only by her facial-features and the pasty color of her skin, but also by her out-of-whack accent that she was American. However, Lily and Lauren had long since been accustomed to her odd appearance, and even odder (and sometimes creepy) obsession with Japan. Once, Brittany had even insisted Lily and Lauren to learn to write in Japanese and even bought them copies of a handbook on it.

Beside her, Lily felt James tense up a bit, and she clutched her sleeve childishly, hiding behind her and declaring anxiously: "Oh no! It's the beast!" James couldn't help feeling intimidated by Brittany. Perhaps it had to do with her "I-don't-give-a-damn-what-people-think, screw-being-normal" outlook on life.

"Silence, mortal!" Brittany snapped threateningly, glaring daggers at James as Lily shook him off of her sleeve agitatedly. After a minute of starign James down, Brittany threw back her head in laughter, giggling, "And he actually listens?! HA!"

"Brittany!" Lauren chirped, hugging Brittany as Lily and James began to fight again, grateful for a distraction from playing mediator. Lauren, turned to Shuyin, and said awkwardly, blushing slightly: "Hi, Shuyin!" before turning to Brittany again- Lauren had never liked first meetings- she thought they were awkward and embarressing.

"Hey! Do you wanna come to Hogsmeade with me and Shuyin?" Brittany asked hopefully- with her being in Ravenclaw, and Lauren being in Gryffindor, they didn't have much time to spend together.

"I can't," Lauren said sadly, and then glaring at the bickering James and Lily, who were practically biting one anothers' heads off by now, accusingly. "I have to make sure this lot don't kill each other."

"But, Honeydukes finally bought poccy from some Japanese wizard! It took me months to convince them!" Brittany whined, pouting her lips like a spoiled child. "And, Lau-Lau...they have every flavor! Chocolate...Vanilla...Strawberry!"

"I'm sorry," Lauren replied pleadingly, her stomach growling just thinking about delicious poccy.

"Ugh, fine. Don't ask _me _for any though." Brittany sighed exasperatedly, before taking off with Shuyin. Lauren didn't take it to heart- 'twas Brittany's personality.

"You're so beautiful when you yell at me- it shows that you care!" James enthused annoyingly, stroking Lily's long red locks, and she slapped his hand away ignorantly, shoving him away. Automatically, the invisible bonds keeping them together shortened, now drawing them so close that they were touching.

James wasn't really angry at Lily- he was too used to her physical and verbal abuse to take it to heart. Actually, he was rather enjoying their little skirmish. It allowed him to touch her, and he relished the fact that he was making her so mad. _If Lily keeps this up, _James thought happily_, Lily will be practically in my lap by dinner!_

"Get over yourself, Pothead!" Lily snapped angrilly, slapping him again, this time leaving a red handprint across his cheek.

"Both of you, enough!" Lauren yelled angrilly, her cheeks dusting a bright red in anger, jaw set. "I'm so sick and tired of you, complaining and bickering all day!"

James, who had pinned Lily down and she was struggling fiercely, released her temporarily and grinned mischievously at Lauren, teasing, "What'cha gonna' do, Ren-Ren, give us a time out?"

"That's it-" Lauren growled- she plunged her hand into the depths of her robes and withdrew her wand, aiming it at James' throat, but was subdued as someone behind her lowered her arm, whispering jokingly in her ear, and she turned around to see Remus.

"Don't curse James-" Remus joked, grinning at her. "He might be under the false pretense that he's actually important." Lauren grinned inspite of herself. She glanced back at James and lily, her were, yes, once again at each others' throats, and her annoyance was sparked again.

"Hey, do you wanna come to Hogsmeade? Their going to fight whether your here or not, so you might as well not waste your breath." Remus said, flashing her his most charming grin.

"Yes, please." Lauren sighed exasperatedly, gratefull for his offer. With that, the two set off across the lawn heading for the front gates which opened up to a path that led to Hogsmeade, leaving their ever-ridiculous bickering best-friends behind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

Ditching Lily and James, Lauren and Remus made their way down the ancient cobble-stoned streets of Hogsmeade. The streets were crowded with tourist wizards, seventh-years, and townspeople out doing their shopping. Through the glass display window, children accompanied by their mothers were already lining up, excitedly awaiting to purchase their candy. The village was buzzing with a positive energy as passersby exchanged gossip and enthusiastic greetings.

Lauren distractedly looked around Hogsmeade, taking in all the sights. She always thought of their trips to Hogsmeade as special treats, because of how much fun it was. There was always something to do, see, or hear in Hogsmeade- Lauren could never remember being bored there.

Lauren and Remus were quiet for a few minutes. This was mostly due to the fact that Lauren was looking around and that Remus was watching her, in disbelief that she had actually come with him. But, of course she would- the two had always gotten along amiably. When Remus realized he was staring, he cleared his throat awkwardly and said: "So, umm...where do you want to go?"

"Hmm?" Lauren asked, embarressed. It was pretty sad that you could'nt think of anything to do when you could do whatever you wanted. "I dunno, what about you?"

"Well," Remus said, with a small, sly grin. "The Shrieking Shack looks pretty cool from here."

"What?!" Lauren squealed in shock. "Are you insane?"

Remus looked affronted by her accusation, but quickly recovered. He flashed her a charming smile. "Aren't we all a little?" He asked jokingly, and Lauren smirked slightly.

"Come on- don't you trust me?" Remus asked sweetly. He continued to persuade though he needn't not to- Lauren was already tempted. After all, who could resist that gorgeous smile, and he was a nice, trustworthy guy. "We don't even have to go in. It's not that bad in there though. I went in once...on a dare." He quipped the last bit quickly- he couldn't tell her why he_ really _knew what the inside was like- more than his education was worth that.

"Oh, fine!" Lauren said, trying to sound annoyed, even though she was really tempted- her inner adventuress was rearing its head. "But, I'm not going in."

"Great!" Remus enthused, beaming at his own luck in spite of himself. He still couldn't believe he was finally all by himself with Lauren- no James and Sirius to crack any jokes; no distracting Lily to steal Lauren's attention; no annoying Peter to follow them around. He had her all to himself. _No, _Remus thought sullenly to himself, his countenance darkening slightly, _It's not a date- she's not interested. Lauren is my __**friend**__, and she has a __**boyfriend.**_

They stepped over the low, rickety old wooden fence that surrounded the ancient, dilapidating shack, and began striding over to it. As they walked across the over-grown, parched lawn, they were silent. The only sounds audible were the ruffle of their cloaks over the daed, colorful leaves, the soft brushing of the grass against their ankles, and the twigs snapping beneathe their slippers. After ten minutes, they both stood infront of the shack.

The entire surface of the clapboard structure was covered in a thick layer of dirt and slime, and large holes- which were caused by years of neglect and damage by Bundimun- irritating wizarding pest that resembled moss with red eyes and fed on and any other thing in a wizarding household. All of the windows were impervious with thick layers of dust and grime, and the porch steps were so bent out of shape that it looked as if they would collapse under even the slightest weight. The sloping roof was in shambles; large patches of shingles were missing, leaving huge, gaping holes. A few crumbs from a shingle fell off the side and rolled into a rusted gutter, which fell and landed in the grass with a loud thud.

"Well," Lauren said, half-jokingly, grinning sligtly, "At least my mum can't complain about the house being a mess now."

Remus didn't reply- he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts- or, rather, misgivings. When he didn't respond, Lauren turned to him, a bemused smirk playing across her lips. "Not so brave now that we're now are you?" she teased.

"Hm- what? Oh!" Remus exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead in embarressment. "No! I'm not afraid! Are you?"

"No!" Lauren declared defensively, automatically wishing she hadn't said anything at all. In all honesty, the place gave her the creeps and nothing would please her more than for them to turn around and continue on their merry way to Hogsmeade. But it was too late now.

"Well, then," Remus said challengingly, grinning slightly at Lauren. "Since, we're both so sure of ourselves, why don't we go explore for a bit? Don't worry- I won't let anything happen to you- you can hold my hand if you get scared if you like."

"Okay," Lauren said, wishing she could sound a little braver, completely oblivious to the fact that he was flirting with her, mistaking it for friendly concern.

Remus climbed carefully up the steps, skipping some and zig-zagging across them, and Lauren wondered what on earth he was trying to accomplish or if he was just being foolish. "It's okay- they're safe!" he said, holding out his hand for her.

"I know how to walk up stairs, you dip!" lauren joked, smiling, beginning to climb up the stairs. As soon as her foot touched the fifth step up, it creaked loudly, and she jumped, her foot crashing through the wood and getting stuck. "Damn it!" she cursed, attempting to step out but failing.

"Careful," Remsu said concernedly, he stopped lightly onto the step above Lauren's not wanting to add any pressure- if the step broke under Lauren's slight weight then he highly doubted it would hold up with the two of them on it.

"Yeah, I'm okay... I'm just stuck- again." Lauren grumbled, jiggling her foot in an attempt to get it loose. She suddenly, froze, her face draining of colour and gasped: "Oh my god! Something just touched me!"

"Okay, come on- I'll help you." Remus offered, grasping her securely around the waist, and Lauren's stomach plummeted in a way that had nothing to do with what was possibly lurking amongst her foot. "Alright," he said, his hand tingling where it had made contact with her back. "Try to take off your shoe."

"'Kay," Lauren replied. She struggled with her foot, bending her ankle this way and that, her tongue sticking out slightly at the corners of her mouth in concentration, like how kids do when they're playing a video-game, and Remus had to suppress a chuckle. Finally, after dragging the heel of her sneaker against the rough grass beneathe the porch, her foot slipped out of her sneaker and she sighed in relief. "Got it... now what?"

"Hold onto my shoulder, then tilt your foot down and pull your leg up slowly- be careful." Remus said, with a wink and a smile, thoroughly enjoying this.

Lauren arched her foot downward, then gripping his shoulder tightly for balance, slowly pulled up her leg, and her foot slipped easilly out of the Lauren-sized hole. "Thanks," she said gratefully, flashing Remus a sweet smile made him grow hot all over.

"No problem," Remus said, grinning. "That's what...friends are for." he finished gruffly. He had almost said something else and had just barely caught himself.

"Accio, Sneaker!" Remus chanted, aiming his wand into the dark hole. Instantly, Lauren's shoe shot out of the hole and he caught it with his free hand, passing it to Lauren, who put it on. "Now- let's see what's under there."

Magically lighting his wand ("Lumos!"), he pointed it at the hole again and peered inside. When he straightened up, he held what appeared to be a round, fuzzy, custard-colored ball in his hand- a ball that was _sleeping._

Peering down at it, Lauren started to blush. It was rather cute, actually- the small fuzzy quivering ball of fur curled up in Remus' palm, and she felt embarressed that she had gotten so worked up about it. "A puffskein!" Remus said knowledgeably, as the sweet creature wriggled its' adorable little fannie in the air before plopping itself up and yawning, opening its' glistening eyes. Lauren couldn't help but smile- it was so cute. "This is the terrifying little beast that must've touched you." he joked.

"What? I wasn't scared, honestly!" Lauren proclaimed defensively. She gently scooped the puffskein out of Remus' hand and she stroked underneathe the tiny creatures neck- the Puffskein humming contently.

"Do you think its' safe to keep?" Lauren asked, quickly changing the subject. Shivering slightly in the chilly autumn air. "I'd feel bad leaving him here, and I'm getting kind of cold- I was thinking of stopping at the Three Broomsticks so we could get some butterbeer.

Remus knew she was trying to ditract him from her embarressment, but he didn't mind- in fact he liked it that she felt embarressed around him- it was one his small guilty pleasures. Like when she accidently bumped his knee while they were studying, and instead moving it, he kept it there.

"Sure, they're clean, calm, and loveable. " Remus replied. "They can basically take care of themselves."

"What do they eat?" Lauren asked, relieved he didn't question her change of topic, as they set off again across the lawn, making their way back to Hogsmeade. She gently the placed the Puffskein inthe breast pocket of her robes and it cozied right up, poking it's cute fuzzy rear out of the top, tell-tale humming ensuing softly.

"Well, it's a scavenger- so anything really." Remus explained, climbing over the low gate, and then holding his hand out for her. "You know, like, bugs, leftovers- that sort. You just need to make sure they get enough water." He decided not to mention that a puffskeins favorite midnight snack was was wizard bogies- he didn't think Lauren would find it very charming.

"Oh," Lauren said, patting her pocket gently. "Well, then, in that case, I shall call him...Collin."

"What if it's a girl?" Remus asked, laughing. The idea of a girl with the name Collin was amusing to him.

"I dunno. I'll just _assume _its' a boy. I wouldn't be surprised if it knew the difference. Besides, I like the name Collin." Lauren said.

"Okay, but why?" Remus aked, looking as though he had swallowed something sour. Collin was his father's name, whom had left him and his mother after Remus had been bitten by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. The incident had left him bitter towards his father and close to his mother.

"I dunno- its' what my dad was goonna name me if I was a boy." Lauren replied indifferently, shrugging her shoulders.

Remus opened the door to the Three Broomsticks and held it open for Lauren. The entered the loud, crowded pub and they took their seats at a booth infront of another couple that sat holding hands, gazing soulfully into one anothers eyes in a such a love-sick way that both Remus and Lauren were getting annoyed.

Remus shuffled his feet uncomfortably under the table, blushing slightly- he was deeply urged to Kiss Lauren too, right then and there. With all this pressure from the table behind them they might as well be in Puddifoot's, Sirius' favorite attraction in Hogsmeade for obvious reasons. Lauren glared enviously at the couple. Her boyfriend didn't belive in PDA's (public displays of affection)- they had been dating for almost a year and still the most she had ever gotten from him was a quick peck on the lips- like the one you'd give your grandmother or something- if you could call it even that.

She watched the mystery blonde caress her boyfriend cheek affectionately , starry-eyed, before leaning in to kiss him lovingly. Lauren thought they actually looked kind of cute together- which was even more annoying.

"I'll be right back." the girl said, pulling away from him. She got up from the her booth and passed their table, making a beeline for the bathroom. Lauren vaguely recognized her. The girl- Alyssa Something-Or-Other was a Hufflepuff that had finished her education last year- she was a year older than Lauren.

Lauren looked at the girls table, curious if she'd know Alyssa's boyfriend as well. Lauren glanced at the girls date and he caught her eye, his eyes widening in shock and horror. She recognized him alright- as her _boyfriend! _Lauren glared at him for a second when the revelation occurred to her that she wasn't even mad about the fact that their relationship was virtually now completely over- it was more the fact that she was dumb enough not realize that he had been cheating, and that he hadn't told her.

_Fine, _Lauren thought_, two can play at that game._ She suddenly reached up, pulling Remus' face closer to her, and kissing him. Remus couldn't even think straight, and he felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders as fireworks set off infront of him. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her back enthusiastically, and she felt like her stomach had just fallen out. She didn't need Dan, She had Remus. He had always been there, and he still was- along with the feelings she had secretly harboured for him until then.

Lauren and Remus were too excited with one another, and too preoccupied to even notice Dan leave with his girlfriend as soon she returned from the bathroom declaring that he "had lost his appetite." All they saw was each other, as the sweet warmth of one another's embrace opened them up a new world of discovery.


	10. Chapter 10

**OOC: I have another fic which you guys might be interested in, as well. It's called To Die For- another HP fanfic. Reviews have been slow, and I would appreciate if you checked it out because I think you'd like it. Thanks! xoxo- Julz :p.**

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Ten**

Despite James' attempts to provoke his preferred predicted outcome, his theory remained unprecedented, as Lily was no closer to being in his lap than the day idea had occurred- not even two months later. By then, the last of the brightly-colored leaves had fallen from the trees, and autumn had turned into winter. The once leave-strewn lawns were now covered in a thick blanket of glistening white snow- Hagrid's snow-capped hut looking like a frosted gingerbread house.

Every surface of the castles interior was beautifully decorated, a constant reminder of the upcoming holidays- as if they needed it. Bewitched suits of armor holding candles lined the corridors merrily singing to Christmas carols. Glamorous Christmas trees towered in every corner of the great hall- which was dazzling lit with live, fluttering fairies that left behind a shimmering trail of dust in their wake and swooned when complimented. Railings, banisters, and statues were wrapped with long coils of tinsel garland and holly, and mistletoe hung above every threshold and doorway.

The day before they were scheduled to leave for home for Christmas vacation, all- or, at least, most- of the students crowded around their house tables in the great hall to enjoy their last meal together before leaving for the holidays. Some, however, stayed in their dormitories either to finish with some last minute packing or merely because they were staying at the castle over break. Lily and James, on the other hand, were some of the few whose absence were not excused for either reasons.

To James's annoyance, Lily was dead-set against joining in on the festivites with the other students- meaning he couldn't go either. He sat beside Lily on the couch nearest the fire in the Gryffindor common room, staring blankly at the dancing flames in the fireplace, absentmindely tapping his fingers on the hard-covered book he had in his lap bearing the title: _Days Between: My Life With The Weird Sisters- _James's favorite band.

Lily looked up from her favorite book- _Pride and Prejudice_, a romance novel- written by her favortie author, Jane Austen- about a woman with a personal prejudice against a man deemed to be the proudest man in all of England who, despite their obvious differences and dissaproval of their families, fall in love. She had always thought herself to be like Elizabeth, and harboured great respect for the character's love interest- Mr. Darcy. Lily had read the book a million times before but she never lost interest or got annoyed with the story- and whenever she read it, she was greatly annoyed whenever she was disrupted- deeming it her "alone" time.

Lily glared at James over the top of her book, thoroughly annoyed. Couldn't he ever just sit still and be quiet? _No, of course not, _Lily thought seethingly to herself, _if he could shut up and stop annoying me for even a minute, then I wouldn't have such an issue with him. _She poked him sharply in the ribs with her elbowe, hoping he would take the hint. However, when James didn't respond, she slapped his hand down agitatedly, snapping, "I have a headache!"

James glared at her, just as annoyed as she was with him. "Sorry..." he said sarcastically. "But can we at least go to dinner?"

"No! I don't feel good!" Lily groaned exasperatedly. They had already been over this matter six times throughout the day. "Besides, I've already had Lauren and Remus bring us up some food anyway." James glared and muttered incoherently under his breath. He didn't push the matter any further, though, knowing it was pointless. Once Lily made up her mind, there was no reasoning with her- she was a Scorpio, though- and stubborness was a marked trait of one so. It was one of the only things that secretly annoyed James about Lily. Then again, if she wasn't so hell-bent on hating James then he wouldn't want her so much.

James sighed exasperatedly and began singing off-key under his breath: "Can you dance like a Hippogriff? Mamama mamama mamama..."

James didn't even get to finish the chorus until Lily threw down her book in agitation and lunged at him. "Holy Sh-" he gasped, throwing his hands up infront of him. "My _God, _you are so_ annoying!" _Lily growled, wrestling with James. She punched him hard in the stomach, knowcking the wind out of him. He slapped her hand away impatiently and pushed her off of him. "Ow!" she whined.

"I'm annoying?" he spat, scrambling to his feet again. "Well, you squeeze from the middle of the toothpaste!"

"You leave your underwear on the floor!" Lily shot back.

"You talk to yourself when you study!" James complained.

"You leave the toiletseat up!" Lily shrieked, chucking a pillow at James which he dodged artfully.

"You hormonal when you get an A-!" James cried in exasperation, getting more frustrated by the minute.

"You talk to yourself in your sleep." Lily accused. And it was true- for the first whole week of their punishment she couldn't sleep because he kept muttering in his sleep-something about his mother chasing him around the house with a broom.

"You snuggle." James said quietly, with an arrogant smirk, knowing very well that she had been defeated.

"No-a-what-ahaaa..." Lily stammered nervously, her cheeks dusting crimson, as she blushed furiously. "I do _not_ snuggle." she said indignantly, turning her nose up and looking like snob. "I'm just a restless sleeper!"

"Oh, I'll say." James said, grinning mischievously. He took a few steps closer to the shocked and mortified Lily. "Want to snuggle now?" he asked boldly, making yet another brave attempt at flirtation, as he surrepticiously snaked his arms around her waist, and blowing on her neck, making her twitch.

"Hey, guys!" Remsu called to them as he and Lauren entered through the portrait of The Fat Lady, both carrying trays ladden with with food. "We brought your-"

"Shh..." Lauren hissed, stepping lightly on Remus's foot to get his attention. "Lily's sick, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Remus said sheepishly, "Right." They froze when they reached the common room's threashhold, unable to believe their eyes. Remus cocked his head to one side in confusion, mouth slightly agape, and Lauren gasped and dropped her tray, the utensils, containers, and platters falling to the ground, and Lily's food sloshed across the floor.

"Don't touch me, you pedophile!" Lily screamed agitatedly, pushing James roughly off of her, causing him to stumble and trip over the coffee table. Remus sighed in relief- him and Lauren's two best friends dating would be just to weird to comprehend.

"A what?" James shouted, sounding insulted, but his expression revealing he had no idea what a pedophile was, let alone heard of one.

Lauren giggled- Lily referred to her estranged sister Petunia's walrus-of-a-boyfriend Vernon to a pedophile all the time, because Vernon was six years Petunia's senior. "It's disgusting!" Lauren recalled Lily complaining a summer that Lauren had spent over the Evans's. "When she was only twelve years old, he was eighteen!"

"Shut up! You'd think that after at least two months of being stuck together you'd get used to each other!" Lauren growled, repairing her fallen tray, Lily's meal of chicken noodle soup, a package of saltines, and orange juice floating back into their containers. "Now just sit down and eat."

"I lost my apetite." Lily said stubbornly, sitting back on the couch and opening up to the page she had left off on in _Pride and Prejudice_, as James kneeled down in front of the coffee table and started wolfing down his meal.

"No, Lily," Lauren said sternly, grabbing away Lily's book, and she glared at her. "No reading till you've finished eating."

Lily growled and reluctantly plopped down next to James- who was already almost finished with his food and was eyeing her soup and crackers hungrilly- and began picking at her food, glaring at her bowl of soup, as if she thought if she stared at it long and menacingly enough if would shrink away from her. "If you don't plan on eating, then can I have your food?" James asked insensitively- once again displaying his knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"NO!" Lily snapped, digging into her food with renewed gusto, as though she thought he'd snatch it away from her.

"What?!" James cried. "You just said you weren't hungry."

"Well, duh." Lily said, "But that doesn't mean I want you to have it."

_Brat_, James thought. He started eating his potatoes again, when Lily elbowed him hard in the ribcage. "What in bleeding hell was that for?" he protested.

"You keep knocking my elbowes!" Lily argued, pinching his arm for good measure. "Move!"

"No! You move!" James retaliated, "I was here first, therefore I don't have to move."

"Oh, real mature, Pothead, " Lily said scathingly, rolling her eyes and she sucked the last of her broth from the bowl. "Next, you'll be peeing on the table to mark your territory."

"ENOUGH!" Lauren shouted. "Obviously I'm going to have to stay here with you two, so you don't kill each other. It's ridiculous, you're worse then two year olds- and believe me I've had not so great an experience with them." Lauren was referring to her younger sister, who was supposed to be some kind of magical child-prodigy.

"Well, he started it!" Lily complained, sounding unnaturally childish.

"I don't care who started it," Remus intervened, shooting James a scolding look, and his friend withered- James never liked it when Remus looked at him like that. "We're ending it."

"Remus?" Lauren inquired, bewildered. "You're staying too? But I thought that you had a family?"

"Uhh..." Remus trailed off, exchanging a worried glance with James- knowing they were thinking the same exact thing. For someone so smart and quick on his feet, Remus proved to be a really bad liar. "I wanted to be able to spend Christmas with you!" he invented, grinning sappily.

"Oh!" Lauren gushed, blushing sweetly. "That's so sweet."

"Of course." Remus said, relieved she had believed him, and he pecked her on the cheek. How he wished that that lie could be true- because his real excuse was so far from what he had told her- and alot more life-alterring, and sinister, too.

_Slick_, James mouthed to him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Eleven**

The next day- Christmas Eve- found Lily, James, Sirius and Dakota, Lauren, and Remus scattered around Hogsmeade. Initially, Lily had planned on all six of them spending the evening together, but it turned out that her friends had different plans: Lauren and Remus were having some time alone as a couple, and apparently Sirius had something "big" planned with Dakota. James assumed Sirius meant that he was going to finally "make it happen" with Dakota. So- as a result- Lily was stuck alone with James- again (not that he minded- he cherished every second alone he had with Lily); this time in the Three Broomsticks.

"You know, Lily," James joked, grinning casually, as he watched Lily sipping from her drink. "You're actually kind of fun when you don't have that pole stuck up your ass all the time."

"Yeah, and you're kind of hot when you're not talking. Hint?" Lily replied sarcastically, tucking her long, straight red hair behind her ear impatiently. "Don't get any ideas- this isn't a date, Potter. Hurry up, dinner at the castle is in an hour, and I _don't_ want to miss it."

"Whatever you say, sexy." James said, and Lily gave an unvoluntary shudder, sipping from her glass of meade- after dealing with James's constant annoyingness for two months now, she deserved it. James gestured to her drink, before continuing. "Who knew you could be such a rebel?"

"I am _not _breaking any rules." Lily said ruefully, looking disgruntled. "I'm seventeen. Besides- even if I wasn't legal, it's nothing that I'm sure _you _haven't done."

"Yes, I know- courtesy of Lauren." scoffed James, "I think I gave up spending my money on you was your fifteenth birthday- when you threw away that expensive diary I bought you."

Lily- unable to come up with a good enough retort- finished off her fire-whisky and grabbed her handbag, standing up. "Let's go- I'm done." As if he had a choice. He got up and followed Lily to the The Three Broomsticks' exit. He suddenly stopped her, though, when they reached the door, pointing over their heads. There, Lily saw- hanging above them- was mistletoe- growing longer still as they stood beneathe it.

"Yeah, right." Lily growled. "I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last guy on earth. Now let's _go!_" She took a step forward, but James stood his ground, and the invisible bonds that tied them held her back.

"Come on, Evans." James persisted, grinning devilishly. "Just think of it as an experiment. Just one kiss okay, okay? So we can see if you really hate me as much as you say you do."

"Ugh, fine!" Lily growled. "But if you try anything, Potter, then your ass is grass." James held his hands up, as if in surrender, shocked beyond belief that Lily would agree- it was the least thing he'dve expected from her.

"He took a tentative step closer to her, nervous. He gently cradled Lily's face in his hands, and placed a tender, loving kiss on her lips, his stomach rolling with excitement- then another, and another. Lily's stomach churned slightly, and she could feel her hands trembling as he pulled away from her, looking star-struck. "So...?" he inquired, looking hopefully into her emerald eyes.

Lily looked up into James's hazel eyes, looking- for the very first time James had ever seen- confused, and lost for words. "Nothing." Lily lied, feeling shiverry. "I felt nothing- nothing at all."

"What?" James cried, outraged. He knew there was something there. He felt it, and he could see it in her eyes- so, why was she so determined to hate him? "Well then you're not trying hard enough!"

"I know how to kiss, Potter!" Lily growled, her temper-as quickly as it had died down- flaring up again. "Did it ever occur to you that while the rest of the school kisses your ass, that I just don't like you?!"

"Try harder, Lily!" James said pleadingly, and Lily started shaking again, feeling nervous. "I know that you felt something. I felt it- and I can see it in your eyes. Try harder!"

Lily suddenly grabbed James by the shoulders, shoving him hard against the door, and kissed him deeply- a long, lingering, passionate kiss, trying to ignore the variety of gut-wrenching sensations she was experiencing, her whole body screaming for more of him. Her heart felt as though it would burst out of her chest if her shirt wasn't on, and she found it hard to concentrate on why she was kissing James in the place. Finally, after a few minutes, she released James, trying to ignore the fact that half of the pub was staring at them.

James stared at her, shocked, unable to believe what had just happened, his mouth still open in mid-kiss. His eyes were glazed in a far-off, dreamy kind of way, like he had just experienced the biggest, heart-pounding thrill of a life-time. Finally, a few seconds later he had come to his senses, and he looked pleadingly up at Lily as if he was a child who just been denied a real treat. "Did you-" he started but Lily cut across him.

"Nothing- nothing." she fibbed, breathlessly. It made her guilty not only to him, but to her heart as well, as it sank, but she'd get over it, she told herself.

"I love you, Lily. " James said ernestly, his face a mere inch from her own. "And I know you feel the same way. I could feel it. What do you think you're proving by lying to not only me- but yourself?"

Forgetting all about the enchantment still placed on him, he started to set off at a fast pace, with long strides, Lily unable to keep up with him, and he accidently tripped over himself. Not exactly the end to his romantic speech.

Outside in Hogsmeade, the ground was covered in a fresh white blanket of snow, its' surface punctured here and there in strange patterns from the footprints of the villagers. The delicious, inviting fumes of hot butterbeer, roasting turkey, and pine trees lingered in the air, and the sky was a pale, steely gray.

Lauren and Remus strolled arm-in-arm down the children-swarmed streets of Hogsmeade, making their way to the only part of the small wizarding village that was quiet and secluded- The Shrieking Shack. The Shrieking Shack was not much, but it provided enough privacy for them when they wanted to be alone with each other, away from all the noises and distraction of the of the Tower, or otherwise having Madame Pince breathing down their necks in the school library. It had been their "spot" ever since they had found and adopted Collin the baby puffskein their two months earlier.

"All this snow is ridiculous." proclaimed Remus, jumping the low fence barracading the shack easilly, barely visible through a thick haze of steam as he ciphoned clear a path for him and Lauren, using his wand. When he finished he returned to Lauren at the fence to help her over.

"Yeah," she agreed, with somewhat of an air of thoughtfulness, holding onto Remus's shoulders for balance and climbing over the fence. "It makes you wonder, though- why on Earth would anyone want to live in an igloo?"

"I beg your pardon?" Remus laughed.

"Igloos, "she repeated. "Lily told me that way up north, where everything is frozen all the time, that muggles live in igloos- they're like weird dome thingies made completely out of ice and snow."

"Bizarre- It would be like living in a huge freezer." Remus said with a smirk. They were quiet for a moment, as they observed the snowy, deteriorating roof of the Shrieking Shack, and Remus was suddenly struck with an idea. "How about we make one?"

"Huh?" Lauren asked, confused. "Make one what?"

"An igloo." Remus clarified, looking eager. "We could make one to see what it's like to live in one. Do you know what it looks like?"

"Yeah, Lily showed me, but I'm warning you- I'm not an artist." Lauren said, and- using the tip of her wand, she began drawing a picture in the snow. Having been born to and raised by a pure-blood wizarding family, Lauren found Muggles exceedingly intriguing, wondering how they could possibly do anything without magic. She often asked Lily questions about things she'd learned in Muggle schools before she had come to Hogwarts. Often responding to what Lily said with "Weird."

"You said an igloo is supposed to be round, right?" Remus joked, scrutinizing Lauren's crude illustration. She poked in the stomach in retalliation, and Remus became suddenly serious again, glancing at the mounds of snow all around them.

"Okay," Remus thought aloud to himself, and Lauren cleared away the snow from the bottom-most step of the porch with a swish of her wand, sitting down to Watch Remus as he raised his wand, levitating heaps of snow and magically compacting them into large cubes that curved outward. He was so cute when he was serious.

Finally, after ten minutes of packing and arranging the snow-cubes, the igloo was finished and Remus stood back to admire his work, bellowing, "'Alas'! My masterpiece is complete." Lauren jumped about a foot in the air, startled. She had completely zoned out, her attention focused solely on Remus as he was hard at work.

She looked up to see Remus, gazing into her light-brown eyes, amiling, and she grinned back at him, as he took her hand, leading her towards the igloo. "Come on, let's check it out." he said.

"What is it? A ham?" Lauren laughed, but she followed anyway, examining the igloo- it looked perfect, exactly as Lily had depicted, and- she thought slightly grudgingly- much better than her drawing had. Lauren climbed through its' entrance first and Remus followed not long after, sitting beside Lauren, and looking up at the cup-sized hole in the igloos' top. "Cool," he said, then added, "No pun intended."

"Mmhm..." Lauren agreed, pulling out her wand again. "Now only one thing is missing." She muttered an incantation under breath, and conjured a burning log of ever-lasting blue flames, it's shimmering smoke rising out of the hole in the roof. "Perfect," she concluded.

"Yeah," Remus said, gazing fondly at Lauren, and gently stroking her hair. "You are." He leaned in and kissed, and when they broke apart, Lauren couldn't help but laugh. "You're such a nerd!" she laughed good-naturedly, shoving a bit of snow in his mouth, and army-crawling out of the igloo.

"Hey! Come back her, you goof!" Remus yelled, in mock-agitation. "I'm trying to be romantic!" He could hear her laugh as he followed her out, and chased, catching up quickly, despite the struggle the snow was causing- all the way to gate, where he tackled her.

"Say you love me." Remus demanded, tickling her stomach relentlessly, and she squirmed, giggling.

"Don't you mean, 'say uncle?'" she asked breathlessly, still making bold attempts to throw him off, but it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be- Remus was alot stronger than he looked- alot by far.

"Nope. Say you love me." Remus grinned, tickling her even more ferociously than ever, and she wriggled like a worm being dangled in mid-air.

"I LOVE YOU!" Lauren squealed through tears of laughter.

"Good." Remus said sweetly, standing up and pulling to her toher feet and into his arms. "Because I love you too." Lauren couldn't help grinning as she stole another kiss from him. _What could I ever have possibly done to deserve a guy as great as Remus? _Lauren thought.

"So, there's this girl I like, right? But, I don't know how to tell her because she doesn't know I exist." Sirius said catching Dakota's glance, feeling- for not the first time recently around her- nervous. His mouth felt suddenly dry, and he licked his lips uncomfortably. _Forget, due- you're in way over your head, _Sirius thought.

"Yeah, right." Dakota laughed sarcastically. "There's not a girl in Hogwarts who doesn't know who you are. Even the _teachers_ love you, Sirius!"

"Well, this girl is different- she's... amazing. High-maintainance, classy." Sirus said, blushing, and his stomach swooped uncomfortably. "You know? She's different from all the other girls...I really feel for her."

This was not what he had expected- to fall for the smart, sweet, innocent girl- pretty too, but not in the way that would make her stand out in a crowd. And a muggle-born to boot. His mother would certainly disapprove, but maybe that was part of what made her so appealing to him.

"Well- anyways, the thing is, I've decided to buy her something nice for Christmas to break the ice, you know?Only problem is- I have no idea what to get her, so I was hoping that maybe-"

"I could help?" Dakota finished his sentence for him. "Yeah, I mean- I am a girl, after all."

"So I've noticed." Sirius said, clearing his throat, and grinning nervously.

"Hey, by the way? Are you okay? Your voice sounds kinda funny." Dakota said. observing the jewlery behind a gleaming glass display case. She tucked a curly strand of brown hair behind her ear, out of her hazel-blue eyes- the better to see with.

"Never been better." Sirius replied, stepping up behind her, and peering over her shoulder, his chest pounding. Dakota

was petite, and she stood almost a foot shorter than he was. "So, have you found anything good yet?"

"That one." Dakota pointed to a gold necklace with a heart locket. On its' front, embellished in aqua gems, was written:

_Je t'aime._ I love you. The price-tag above it read 30 galleons and 10 sickles. Sirius grinned- he and Dakota had been friends for a little over a year now and had been hanging out quite alot recently, so they knew pretty much all there was to know about one another.

She knew that his family was raking in gold, and could probably buy the whole entire shop if they wanted to, let alone just the necklace. He even knew how she had been fishing in the middle of the lake with her father and brother when she had gotten her first period, and that her brother swam all the way to shore to buy her pads at a nearby convenience store. But yet she had chosen one of the least expensive, smaller items in the shop. She didn't care about his money. This only endeared her to him even more.

"Are you sure?" Sirius inquired, testing her grounds. The jewler was already removing it from behind the counter, handing it to Dakota to inspect more carefully. "It's not much."

"It's perfect." Dakota said, holding it up by the chain and watching the heart locket glisten as the light hit it. "She's going to love it..."

Hours later- long after Remus, Lauren, Dakota, and Sirius had returned, and the steely-grey sky had deepened to a dark, velvety blue, Lily lay restlessly beside James on his four-poster bed in the Boys dormitory, seriously regretting the firewhisky she had consumed earlier that evening.

They had given up trying to share the large, but extremely uncomfortable pull-out couch in the common room after the first two night- and since the stairs to the girls dormitroy were bewitched so that boys could not enter it, Lily's only other option was to sleep with James in his bed. Her presence there wilded up the other boys at first, but now they found it comforting- Lily had become the resident sister of the dorm- except to James of course. As a matter of fact, Lily was the one who suggested Sirius the idea to get Dakota something nice for Christmas to ease the tension of asking her out.

"James?" Lily whispered, quietly, her voice unsure. "James?" she whispered a little louder. She reached for his hand beneath the covers, and found it. She clenched it gently in her soft, warm hands. "James?" she spoke aloud, not even bothering to keep her voice down this time, and Sirius grunted in his sleep.

James rolled over onto his side to look at her, knowing he would not be able to ignore her any longer- he felt his arm shake when she grasped his hand. "Lily?" he said groggily, rubbing his eyes sleepilly. "Wassamatter?"

"I don't hate you," she said quitely, hugging the blankets up to her chin, and snuggling her head against James's Tshirt-clad chest, her long red hair tickling his neck, and he nearly peed himself.

"Erm, thanks, Lily." James said weakly, longing to kiss her again, but contenting himself with stroking her hair. "I don't hate you either."

"I know," Lily yawned tiredly, playing with his fingers, almost childishly, still on the firewhisky buzz obviously. If she did anything embaressing like try to kiss James again she could say that she had been drunk and blame it on the firewhisky, but it occurred to her that she didn't want to. She warm, comfortable and safe- though that she _could _blame that on the firewhisky.

James had just closed his eyes to go back to sleep when Lily spoke up again. "James?" He could not believe he was having a heart-to-heart moment with Lily- He didn't even care that it was only because she was tipsy. He wrapped warm, strong, reassuring arm around her, and surprisingly, she did not throw it off.

"Yeah?" he responded, smiling, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it in the darkness.

"The bracelet you gave me for my fifteenth birthday?"

"Mmhm?"

"I didn't throw it away." she said shyly. Lily raised her arm in the air and James saw the silver bracelet shine in the moonlight that was streaming in from the window behind them.

"I'm glad." he whispered, as indication that he would like to return to sleep, but Lily spoke up just one last time.

"Oh! and James?"

"Lily?" James said, smirking slightly as he closed his eyes. "Go to sleep."

"Okay." she replied, and she closed her eyes...


	12. Chapter 12

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Twelve**

"Get up, sleepy-head! It's Christmas!" James stripped the blankets off Lily, who groaned sleepilly, and she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. She glanced wearilly at James, who- unlike her- seemed fully awake, and eager.

"Can't I sleep for just another half hour?" she yawned, making a movement as if to grab back the blankets from James, but he held them out of reach.

"No, you already did." he said, grasping her by the arms and pulling Lily to her feet. "It's alread half-past seven."

"Fine." she mumbled, grabbing her brush off the bedside table and dragging it once through her thick red hair, before twisting her hair into one piece and pinning it up with a clip. She adjusted the string on her blue, white, and pink plaid flannel pants and straightened her lilac tanktop, that had gotten twisted while she slept. "Whoever suggested waking up early on Christmas was mental." she murmered, stepping into her fluffy bunny slippers. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good morning to you, too." James replied sarcastically, though ruining the effect by grinning. He always found Lily amusing in the morning, even though it usually led to his head being bitten off- he did not know why, but he thought it was cute when she grumpy.

"Sorry." Lily said, smiling appollogetically, and, immediately, all was forgiven, as James felt his blood race and his face grow warm. So he hadn't imagined their conversation last night- unless if he was still dreaming. "Good Morning- and Merry Christmas!"

_Please, don't let this be a dream, _James thought hopefully to himself, _but if it is a dream, then I never want to wake up. _

They were already halfway down the staircase to the boys dormitory, and James was shocked to realize how close Lily was walking to next to him- their shoulders were an inch apart, even though there was plenty of space on the staircase. "It's alright. Merry Christmas to you too, Lily."

When they entered the common room, Sirius was already awake. He lifted his head from beneathe the christmas tree- where he had previously been raiding the packages for his own presents- to see who was approaching, and his face broke into a large grin whenhe saw James and Lily. "Lily Evans wearing a smile in the same room as James Potter? Blasphemy! Who is this horrible imposter?" Sirius joked, smirking.

"Oi! Come off it!" James complained, shooting Sirius a warning look, as Lily blushed slightly, shuffling her bunny-slippered feet awkwardly. "So... how did your 'big plans' go with Dakota last night?"

"Horrible," Sirius mumbled, sobered. "I chickened out on telling her again."

"What is this? Sirius Black- who's dated all of my friends- is afraid of Dakota?" Lily teased Sirius, who laughed sardonically. "Are you losing your touch? Who could've thought that Sirius, infamous womanizer and eternal bachelor extroardinaire, could be all hot and bothered by sweet, innocent Dakota?"

Sirius let out a mock-growl, suddenly seizing her by the hand, twirling her around with mastered ease, before dipping her, smirking arrogantly. "Does that answer your question?" he asked haughtilly, with his most charming grin. Lily laughed, and surprisingly, James joined in too- he knew Sirius wasn't interested in Lily, so he had nothing to worry over his best friend's shameless flirting with her. Sirius, he knew, would never think of Lily as anything more than a close female friend, and occassionally- a therapist, for Lily was a very good listener, and even better at giving advice.

"Besides- Dakota is different- she makes me feel normal... like I there's more to me than the way I look, or money, or my status- you know?" Sirius said, adorning the look that James had seen wear only a few times in their long friendship- it was the look Sirius adapted when he was sincere- serious.

James grinned. "Lighten up, mate! It's not like you're getting married to the girl." Sirius shared a knowing glance with James, both of them smirking as they thought the same thing. Sirius knew very well that James had been planning- despite Lily's previous resistance against him- to marry Lily ever since the first day he had seen her- when they were eleven years old.

"Listen, I've got to go." Sirius said appollogetically, walking backwards towards the Fat Lady's portrait. James tossed a large plastic bag of assorted fudge to Sirius, who caught it skillfully, rolling James-Bond-style on the floor to catch it. "Your mum is a saint." Sirius said with a grin, untwisting the bag and shoveling a piece of fudge in his mouth. "Hope she likes that bracelet I got her."

"Hey, wait!" James called indignantly after his friends' retreating back, looking disgruntled. It was a Marauder's tradition to open your presents together at exactly the same time on Christmas morning.

"Can't say, Prongs!" Sirius called over his shoulder, before slipping out of the portrait hole. "It's all part of the master plan."

"Master plan?" James repeated, furrowing his brows in confusion. What kind of "Master Plan" was Sirius in on that didn't involve James? He shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at Lily, who was already bent over underneathe the tree while she searched for her presents.

With a devillish grin, James enjoyed the view of her bottom as she shuffled around the packages. He sat down beside her, and- deciding to take the easy way out- summoned his gifts to himself, not even caring that the top his messy head was brushing uncomfortably against the pine bristles so long as Lily was there beside him.

"Oi! Moony!" James bellowed up the stairs to the boys dormitory. "You still sleeping? Get up you lazy sack of bones!" Moments later, a disheveled, sleepy-eyed, but incredibly sexy Remus descended the stairs to the common room. "Morning sunshine," James joked. "Get over here, you've got presents."

Remus grinned wearilly and joined the two at the trees' base- ravaging the pile of gifts that were addressed to him. "Merry Christmas, guys."

"Merry Christmas," they replied.

Lauren opened her eyes sleepily, and put on her glasses, glancing at the watch on the nightstand beside her bed. The little hand was pointing to the seven, and the large hand was pointing at the twelve. 7:00. She shot up in her bed, and stood up, pulling down the legs of her sweatpants that probably really belonged to her dad (Lauren borrowed her mom and dad's clothes so often that they often forgot what really belonged to whom). She then unceremoniouslyran a brush quickly through her hair and through it into a loose, low ponytail with a scrunchie she had "borrowed" from her younger sister Kelley.

"Dakota, get up!" she demanded, skaking her friend roughly, and Dakota stirred slightly.

"Why?" Dakota mumbled feebly, opening her sleepy blue eyes and sitting up, brushing a stray brown curl back, out of her face.

"It's Christmas, you dip!" Lauren cried exasperatedly, and Dakota hopped out of her bed, her nightgown brushing against her ankles. Unlike Lauren- who preffered doing things, even her hair, the traditional way- she grabbed her wand and used it for a brush. With a mere tap of the wand to her head, her frizzy, bedhead curls fell down below her shoulders and half-way down her back in long, shiny ringlets. "Okay." Dakota said, and they crept down the staircase and into the common room.

Lily, James, and Remus were already ripping open the wrappers of their presents, Lily removing the tape, and unfolding the wrapping carefully, like it was a delicate creature. Lauren's eyes bulged. Remus was only wearing boxers.

She almost wet herself- She'd never really pictured what Remus would look like in his underwear- but he looked way better than she could ever have imagined. He had a nuscular, surprisingly athletic build for someone who spent a great deal of his time reading in the library, and- as far as she knew- did not play any sports. She forced herself not to stare as she gave him a warm hug and a kiss. _We are definately way too comfortable around each other, _Lauren thought to herself, _Not that I'm complaining._

"Merry Christmas. " he grinned, and she melted in his arms.

"Merry Christmas." she said, blushing intensely, but smiling back at him. _I'm kissing my boyfriend- my gorgeous boyfriend, Remus- _Lauren thought smugly- _and he's only wearing his underwear. This is so embaressing._ But Lauren had to admit, she did find it rather exciting- and she wasn't really doing anything wrong after all- it was Christmas morning and they were all wearing their pajamas- even Lily. She just happened to be kissing Remus- in his underwear. Her dad would flip, she knew. But Lauren thought, with a small flicker of rebellion- _But, Dad's not here._

Dakota knelt infront of her own pile, which consisted of four parcels. One was addressed from her grandparents, two from her parents- one of which she knew contained pastried, sweets, and homemade fudge- and one from her older sister Gabriella. And stacked ontop of this pile- sat a cream-colored envelope, which contained- she assumed- a Christmas card, although she could not guess who it could be from.

Curiousity sparked, Dakota slit open the evelope and retrieved an elegantly decorated Christmad card. The inside consisted of one of the cheesy, but romantic Christmas poems found in Hallmark cards, and then- below, written in neat, loopy handwriting that she recognized, but couldn't remember where- was written:

Dakota, meet me in the astronomy tower at midnight- Love.

Dakota stomach fluttered, and it felt as though she had just swallowed a barrel of hot butterbeer whole, as a warm, tingly sensation spread throughout her body. She had never had a secret admirer before- it was rather exciting.

_Meet me in the astronomy tower at midnight, _Dakota reread, and her cheeks filled with a warm flush. She looked as though she had just been kissed. _How romantic._ She thought.

"James, pass me the bread, please?" Lily requested politely. James sat to her right and the bread was placed on the table to his right. Lauren and Remus decided to take James and Lily's sudden compatibility with a grain of salt. It was almost too good to be true- they decided that their best friend's has set aside their differences just for the day, because- after all- it was Christmas. The Headmaster, however, analyzed that their sudden change of heart went much deeper than thar, and he surveyed James and Lily with interest, as if observing an intriguing new species beneathe a microscope, smiling softly.

James and Lily's fingers brushed against one another as he handed a piece of bread, and he grinned charmingly, Lily returning the offer and turning a rather violent shade of red as she did so.

Sirius ate with gusto, along with Remus and Lauren, their high metabolisms kicked into hyper-drive at the sight of all the delicious food. Dakota merely picked at her food, preoccupied with her thoughts, and occassionally eating a bite or two of mashed potatoes, a far-off, dreamy look on her face. _I have a secret admirer, _she thought gushilly to herself.

"So, Dakota-" Sirius said grinning hopefully at her from the opposite side of the table, "Get anything good for Christmas?"

"Well- now that you mention it-" Candace gushed, smiling gooily, as though she had just been waiting all day for someone to ask her so she could talk about it. "I did get this really romantic letter from someone."

Sirius could feel the heat rising up his neck and into his cheeks, and his stomach took a pleasureable turn, his heat skipping a beat. He'd have to get a hold on himself if he was going to be able to follow through with his plans. "So this guy- he must really like you to send it to you- who is he?" Sirius persisted, trying to sound casual, but James could analyze a hint of excitement in his friends voice.

James smirked- in all the seven years he had known Sirius, he had never seen his friend fall to pieces for a girl- least of which Dakota. It was more than a little amusing.

"I dunno." Dakota said thoughtfully, "There wasn't a name. It just told me to meet him later, at the astronomy tower, midnight, and he signed it with 'Love'."

"That's kind of creepy though, don't you think? Probly why he wants to meet you there, ain't it? He might be some scrawney, acne-ridden git with glasses." He said this on purpose, knowing very well that it was Sirius that sent Dakota the note.

Sirius looked personally offended, and he flung potatoes at James- who narrowly avoided being hit by tilting his head to the side- glaring broodingly. "Yeah, Prongs, that sounds a bit familiar."

"I may be specky," James laughed, gesturing to his glasses, "but I'm sexy, and I'm definitely not scrawney." James lifted his shirt to reveal his toned tummy, showing off his flawless six-pack, accomplished by years of playing Quidditch and working out.

Lily tried to avoid looking at him while the whole table erupted with laughter, but she found it hard not to- it was as if her eyes were super-glued to his chest. Only when he began slapping a beat on his stomach was she able to pry her eyes off of him. Even Dumbledore joined in, though secretly Lily believed that there was nothing that their eccentric, old headmaster wouldn't do. Feeling slightly awkward as James decently exposed himself right next to her, Lily smiled wanly.

"What about you Professor?" Lily asked abruptly, changing the subject to save herself any further embaressment, but James smirked, knowing that he was making her uncomfortable. He scooted his chair closer still to Lily's, gently squeezing her knee under the table, and he gave her a deliberate, almost teasing grin. Lily blushed profusely, knocking his knee hard enough with her own for him to withdraw his hand, shooting him a warning look, as if she dared him to try it again. "What did you get for Christmas?" she asked nervously. Why did James have to be so close to her? Couldn't he see she was not comfortable?

"Pah." the Headmaster soffed, with a kind smile, and amused twinkle in his eye at the obvious tension between his Head Boy and Girl. "Books again. As much as I enjoy a good read, I could do with some socks. For example- just last week in Hogsmeade I came across the most fascinating socks- they scream when your feet begin to smell and hop of your feet..."

Sirius stood in the shadows next to a window on the highest level of the astronomy tower, looking out across the grounds. It seemed that it had finally stopped snowing- in record timing, and the stars glittered silvery-white against the deep velvety blue sky beautifully. The circular room was lit only by blue-white flames in torches here, casting a pale blue darkness over everything in the semi-darkness.

_I guess I did choose the right spot, _Sirius thought, with a squirm of excitement. _This IS romantic if I do say so myself._

Sirius glanced at his watch- she'd be here any minute no. He ran his long fingers through his sexy, short, casually shaggy dark hair, and untucked his black sweater, shoving his hands into his dark jeans. He exuded sexiness, but he already knew that. Besides, that really wasn't the impression he wanted to make- he just wanted to show that he cared enough about Dakota to make an effort to look good.

He had had some firewhisky with the others at the feast, which had helped to calm his nerves. After all, this was a big deal for him- he had dated almost every girl in the school that he regarded his interests for a while- he had never really had a steady girlfriend, nor a relationship that lasted more than a few days.

Behind his ear he had tucked a red rose, of which concealed within the center of its' petals was the elegent necklace he had purchased with Dakota the day before.

The loud, hollow sounds of footsteps, or- more likely, he thought, heels- echoed up the staircase, signalling Sirius that Dakota was approaching, and he straightened up immediately, leaning against the window and attempting to look casual, but trying too hard, and achieving nothing more than to look foolish and completely abysmal.

"Hello?" Dakota called shyly, poking her be-curled brown head around the corner and smiling at the sight, or rather- outline- of her mystery man. She wasn't close enough yet to see Sirius, but he could see her in the pale blue light that danced around her, and could tell that she was still wearing the outfit she had worn at the feast.

This made Sirius grin- she looked cute in the Hallmark sort of way. But he liked that about her- it made her fun and different from all of the other girls he had dated, who thought that they were too mature to dress up for holidays; But Dakota dressed up for them all- Christmas, Easter, St.Patricks Day, Halloween.

Today she was adorned in a simple, but elegant knee-length red dress, accessorized with a faux pontsettia in her dark brown curls, and gold high-heels. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement and wonder. Sirius found it very impressive how she could advertize Christmas, bear the house's colors, and still look incredibly hot at the same time.

"Hey," he replied, as she approached him, grining charmingly and flashing her a smile-full of his pearly-whites. He handed her the rose- Dakota had seen enough romance movies and read enough novels to know what comes next. "I didn't know what kind of flowers you like- so I got you a rose. I hope you like it, but if you don't then it still means that... I uhh-" Sirius broke off, his face heating up- he was horrible at this. _Just say it,_ he willed himself, but he couldn't.

Dakota sniffed the rose and smiled dreamilly; Her eyes widened in surprise as the petals magically unfurled with a shimmer, revealing a gold locket. With a tingling sense of anticipation, she held the rose up before her eyes and on closer inspection, realized that it was the very locket she had picked out for Sirius.

"Sirius..." her eyes glistened, and her face broke into a dazzling smile, as she stepped forth to embrace him, hugging him tightly. Sirius's stomach plunged, and she kissed him twice on each cheek. He could feel his pulse race and his blood warm everytime her lips touched his skin. "I knew it! I knew it was you."

"You knew?" Sirius croaked, flushed withe mbaressment. "What Well, then why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell me?"

"And be like any of those girls you dated before?" Dakota said sincerely, motioning for him to help her with the clasp and he did so. "I figured if you really cared about me enough that you would tell me so youself."

"You really are something, Kota." Sirius said, and Dakota could see the tell-tale signs of his trademark smirk. "Most girls would've thrown themselves at me, but you waited."

"Yeah, well abstinance makes the heart grow fonder, right? Hehe...he." She laughed nervously, not sure where this conversation was leading. She opted for changing the subject. "So...erm, what's next?"

"Next?" Sirius repeated, flashing her his most charming grin. "We dance!" He placed a gentle hand around Dakota's waist, and entwined the fingers of his free hand in her own. She knew she ought not to, but Dakota laughed- sometimes Sirius had such an overactive imagination.

"I don't hear any music." she laughed.

"I'm _trying_ to be romantic- it only happens, like once every century for me, so just go along with it." he joked, before becoming serious again. He placed her free hand on his chest, over his heart, and said, "_Feel _the music."

_How does he always know the right thing to say? _Candace wondered to herself, as he began a slow waltz. She kept her hand rexting on his chest, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat beneathe her fingertips, and Sirius was greatly tempted to kiss her.

_No, _he reminded himself sternly, _I want to do this the right way, I can't mess up again- not this time. Not with Dakota. _So instead he satisfied himself with kissing her cheek softly...

Lily's style was dress-casual. She hadn't changed since the feast even though it was midnight. She had on a a plain black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She had curled her hair and put on a bit of make-up, but she still looked stunning. Less is more, was her motto- and for her, it was true.

James apparently supported it too- he had never been one to dress up, not even for a special occassion. He had taken a shower earlier that morning and changed into a plain white t-shirt and distressed blue jeans. That was as close to formal as he got. But it suited him.

"So did you get everything you wanted?" Lily asked, pulling at one of her red curls absentmindedly, and staring at the dancing flames in the fireplace.

"Yeah- almost" James said softly, looking unnaturally uncomfortable and sincere. "I got everything I wanted except for what I wanted the most."

Neither of them spke for a few minutes- it was an unspoken thing, he didn't need to elaborate anything, because Lily and him knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Hey...Lily? I know we've been on pretty good terms lately, and belive me the last thing I would want to do is mess that up- but I was just wondering if maybe I could have- just one kiss- you know, just because it's Christmas? I swear I won't try anything..."

James's voice hopeful, his eyes with such pleading that Lily felt an overwhelming sensation to oblige. She stood up to her knees and for a fleeting, sinking momnet, he was afraid that she would suggest that they forget the conversation and go to bed. But this fear dissolved when he felt her cradle his face in her hands.

Lily her face ever closer to him, and she could fell her lips on his own as they met in a tender kiss. James could feel his stomach tighten and loosen in longing, and everything felt so perfect at that moment that he field himself yield to her power over him, returning the kiss lovingly.

After a few minutes, he pulled away from her, a grim smile curling his lips. "You can stop now, if you'd li-" he suddenly broke off, for he was looking at him with such tenderness that he'd have never believed possible.

"I know ." Lily said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and James smiled as their lips met once more in a lingering, loving kiss...


	13. Chapter 13

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Thirteen**

The first day after Christmas break found Lily and James on the snow-frosted grounds. Lily skated around the lake in graceful spins, swirls, and leaps with elegant, practiced ease. Occassionally glancing away from the vast stretch of thick, glass-smooth ice infront of her, Lily would watch James rolling what looked like two balls of snow resembling small boulders simultaneously. _What on earth is he doing, _she wondered. James looked up just in time to see Lily land a perfect triple smoothly, and whooped. "Nice one! How'd you do that?" he said, beaming.

"Thanks," Lily said with a grin, as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest to increase speed, as she began to spin rapidly, like some bizarre human dradle. "My mum used to dream of being an olympic skater- she was going to compete too, but then she had my sister- and me."

"And?" James pressed on, eager to hear more.

"And now I skate." Lily said, obviously, gliding across the lakes surface.

"But not your sister?" James inquired. It had just occurred to him that although he knew Lily had an older sibling- her sister Petunia- she rarely ever spoke of her, if not at all.

"My sister's estranged." Lily said indifferently, her tone flat, already getting uncomfortable with the conversation, and she started to pick up her pace- as if she was able to move fast enough then she wouldn't be able to hear James and ignore him.

Lily's sister had always been a touchy, emotional subject, and didn't really feel like talking about it now, or ever, really- not even with James. In fact, Lily talked about Petunia so rarely that most of the school assumed she was an only child. Lauren, Dakota and Remus knew most of the details of the matter, and noly Severus knew everything about it- for Lily had grown up with him, and only he was there to witness Petunia's wickedness, and to comfort Lily about it.

Lily and James were romantically involved and had shared their first real kiss a little over a week ago- that much was true- but she still did not feel close- or comfortable- enough to discuss such a personal matter. But the real thing preventing Lily from getting closer to James had nothing to do with whether or not she could trust him, as she thought it did- it was much more complex, and she was pretty sure that he could tell something was troubling her, but was too nervous that she would be angered if he pressed the matter.

Ever since the kiss they had shared on Christmas, Lily seemed to become continually more and more distant from him, even trying to avoid him at times- only staying in the same room with him if the others were present. Lily said that she merely only wanted to spend time with everyone as a group seeing as how Christmas vacation was a holiday to be spent with friends and family, but, deep down, whether she wanted to admit or not, the real eason as to why she was avoiding him was because she was afraid that she might fall in love with him- the very guy she had been so determined to hate for the many years she had known him.

"What?" James exclaimed, apalled. He knew that many families had such dillemas- his best friend Sirius Black's family was the best example for it if ever there was one- but Lily was always so sweet, happy, and just all-around perfect that he could'nt expect her to have anything less than the charmed life. "Why?"

Lily suddenly skidded to a halt, her blades grinding as the dug long, thick scratches into the ice, and sent a shower of powdery ice-dust behind her. "What? Is that something Lauren, your Lily-pedia forgot to mention? Why don't you go ask her?" she said fiercly, her emerald eyes blazing with icy fire.

James flinched at her sudden hostility, shocked and stung. His grey eyes large and glazed as though he had just bit into one of Hagrid's terrible rock-cakes, his face fell, his curiousity deteriorated. "Oh- I- umm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- hurt you or anything. I think I'll uh, just now- see what Sirius is up to- yeah, um- bye."

As he turned away from her, slumped slightly, Lily felt ashamed of herself. She skated to the edge of the lake and climbed up the snow-covered bank, struggling towards him through the half-frozen snow in her skates. "No, James, don't-" she said appollogetically, her expression softening. She gripped his shoulders firmly to balance herself and keep her legs from wobbling and he looked searchingly into her eyes- sometimes the female species truly baffled him, especially when it came to their unpredictable tempers. "I'm sorry- It's not you- It's just, my sister really hurt me. It's something I usually don't like to bring up."

"Oh," James said, and she could already see the happy, lively twinkle return to his stormy-grey eyes as he grinned. He put a warm, comforting arm around Lily's waist, pulling her close to his side, sending a shock of adrenaline throughout her body, but they quickly subsuded as she silently told herself to get a hold of hormones and keep a clear head. "Want to talk about it?" he asked sweetly.

Lily's first instinct was to reply with a flat, unceremonious 'No'- just as she had done to to almost everyone except those that she loved dearly and trusted deeply- but James sounded sincere, and even hopefull that Lily might share something that obviously had a strong emotional impact on her. He really had been trying hard to prove to Lily that he truly loved and cared about her, and that he was trustworthy- he even let her make all the moves- resisting the tantalizing urge to ravage her mouth whenever he looked at her, satisfying himself (barely) with soft, sweet kisses on her cheeks and lips.

_Well, he really has been trying, _Lily thought unsurely to herself, letting out a sigh of resignation. _Maybe I should give a chance, _she decided.

"Petunia hates me, because I'm a witch- she called me a freak; It was the last thing she said to me. Petunia left last year on her eighteenth birthday to live with her walrus of a boyfriend Vernon- she tried to convince my parents to disinherit me and throw me out, but they wouldn't so she disinherited herself. We haven't heard from her since."

"Well, that's bogus." James said sincerely, strking her cheek affectionately and softly kissing her lips. "If you were my sister I'd worship you."

Lily screwed up her face in disgustion. "Ew, James. That would be gross."

"Yeah, I know- but that kinky kind of stuff turns me on." He said with a grin. He was kidding of course- though it really didn't occurr to him that Lily would not find it amusing. Steriotypical hicks were often a joking matter for him and Sirius. By the disgusted and shocked expression on her face though, James took it that Lily did not find his jest as funny as he did, if at all. "I'm joking- I swear. It was just a joke."

"You're sick, you know that?" Lily laughed, giving him a playful shove. "So what is that anyway?" she asked, deciding it was an opportune moment to take the subject of sisters, as she pointed to the small head-sized balls of snow piled ontop of one another, standing no taller than two feet.

James's face broke into a grin, and he dug his hands into his pockets, retrieving two buttons, a long thick piece of red yarn and a baby-carrot. He then assembled them as a face on the top of snowball- the buttons for eyes, the carrot for a nose, and he made a wide smile using the yarn. Then he summoned four small branches from a dead tree and stuck them on the snow-peoples sides as arms. "There." he said, as if this gesture would clarify everything.

"I still don't get it." Lily said stupidly, her expression blank and clueless.

James rolled his eyes as he raised his wand to duplicate ("Geminium!") the mini-snow-person he had made, until there were two identical snow-people. He then conjured wigs of colored yarn on each snow-person- red on one, black for the other.

"Get it now?" he asked. Lily blinked in response and from her expression- much like that of someone who was surveying a mad-man- James heaved a sigh of exasperation.

"Snow-babies!" he cried exasperatedly, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, ad Lily raised a skeptical eyebrow. _Just what is he trying to insinuate? _she asked herself, though she already knew the answer.

"You're insane." Lily said bluntly, then added, "I'm only having one kid, and that's if I ever decide to have kids. Besides, that's rather cocky of yourself don't you think? Feeling a bit confident, eh?" She indicated the bewigged snow-kids, obviously picking up on the fact that they had her own- and James's- color hair.

James glanced at his feet, and blushed profusely, feeling as though he had stepped into a furnace as a tide of embarressment crashed over him. "No- I mean- I'm just having a bit of fun." he stammered anxiously before defending himself.

"Snow-babies are loads better than real ones- no poopies, no baby-sick and runny-noses, and no screaming. Besides, we (Lily raised her eyebrow so high that it was in danger of disappearing in her hair)- I mean you can't have just one kid. You need at least two. Trust me- I know personally that being an only child sucks. I want to have a hundred kids- that would be awesome." He said this last sentence in jest obviously, because he smirked when he said it, but Lily winced in pain as she imagined the poor woman who would have to have all those babies.

To be honest-" James continued, adopting such an unnaturally-for him- serious, sensitive look that Lily had to try hard to resist the temptation to laugh. "I've always wanted a sister."

"If you were related to Petunia you wouldn't want a sister," Lily said, half-jokingly, though he could sense a little bit of contempt in her voice. "Hey," she said, tapping the blades on the soles of her boots with the tip of her wand, and they evaporated. "Let's head back to the castle- I'm getting hungry and it's nearly time for tea."

"Alright, he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder and they started to make their way towards the castle's heavy oak front doors. Flicking his wand behind her back, James blossomed a big red heart on the chests of either of the snow-babies and magically entwining their stick arms, grinning as he did so.

"What's so funny?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Nothing." he said, unable to keep the note of love and happiness out of his voice.

"You're weird." Lily said.

"I know."

The students of Hogwarts crowded around their respectible House tables for their first meal back together since they left for the holidays. The girls- mostly gullible third and fourth years- leaned in close to each other to whisper the latest gossip in each other's ears, while the male upper-classmen boasted about the stupid things they did when they were drunk and all the girls they had "hooked up" with over Christmas in loud, over-eager voices- one of the more ridiculous stories (offered by the seventh-year Slytherin Quidditch Captain) included him having "insane monkey sex" with two hot blonde sisters.

Most of what the seventh-year guys said about their self-proclaimed outrageous debaucheries was nothing more than that- claims. The girl came up with a sufficient method for figuring out a guy's real amount of intercourse- subtract the number they claim to have by six and that's how many girls they really slept with. James and Sirius often joined in on the act as a joke, but only they knew what was truly going on their romantic lives.

This year, however, the mischievous best friend's remained oddly quiet on the subject. This was most probably due to their current love interests, thinking that their feelings were far too complex, mature, and personal to share with any of those horny guys. If they thought this odd, however, they did not mention, which James and Sirius were grateful for.

"How was Christmas, Peter?" Lily asked, politely. Taken by his appearance she guessed it wasn't so great, for Peter's expression was that of someone who had just found out they had only a day to live as he sat on his side of the bench, twiddling his thumbs anxiously, his glance darting back and forth, and here and there.

"Dreadful." Peter moaned despairingly, without raising his eyes from his fidgeting hands. "I think I got spattergroit from a rabid knarl (a magical creature resembling a porcupine, which becomes aggressive and attacks when food is offered to it, thinking it is poisoned)."

Lily couldn't contain her laughter any better than James and Sirius, who snorted with amusement, Sirus spraying pumpkin juice half-way across the table. " Peter," Lily giggled, "you can't catch spattergroit from knarls. Rest assured if you had any symptoms- which you don't- you would be in Quarantine at St. Mungo's."

"Yes, well," he said, blushing so profusely his head resembles a genetically-mutated tomato. "Maybe I should visit the hospital wing and check with Pomphrey, just to be sure."

Peter left the table, as red as ever, his expression still grave, and exited the grat hall through the double doors. "Poor, Peter." Lily said pityingly, "I never did understand the miserable fellow. He always seems to be getting himself into a spot of trouble, doesn't he?

"Yeah- you should've seen the time that we-" James suddenly broke off, his complexion pasty, his expression shocked- he had almost betrayed Remus's most sacred, life-altering secret- which was known and guarded by only the Marauders, Dumbledore, and the Lupins.

"The time you what?" Lily asked curiously, glancing between James, Sirius, and Remus after five minutes of silence among the Marauders. "What could be worse than spattergroit?"

James, having clenched his mind around a suitable response was about to reply nonchallantly when the words shriveled up in his mouth. There- two seats away from James's left, standing beside Lily- was none other than Lily's ex-boyfriend. Tall, slender and athletic, with a mass of golden-brown curls and captivating bright blue eyes, he looked as striking as ever, with looks between an abercrombie model and a handsome French aristocrat.

Immediately, a low territorial growl escaped his throat, and he protectively wraped his arm around Lily, clutching her so close to him that if he had done so any more they might well have converged into one person.

Seth did not seem even the least bit perturbed by this. As a matter of fact, he smirked at James insecurity unpleasantly, obviously finding amusement in James's discomfort.

"Hey, Lily." he said seductively, offering her his most charmingly crooked grin, and Lily blushed deeply, melting like butter as Seth gently raised her hand to his lips to kiss it. "How are you?" he spoke with a soft, sexy Irish brogue, and as Lily looked into his blue eyes, she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came to mind.

"Hi." Lily finally managed to say, an embarressed smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "I'm-"

"She's perfect. We've been fine without you around, you foul priapic prick, and I'd prefer it to stay that way." James snapped angrilly, without thinking, automatically jumping to hostility- how dare Seth come and poke his long pointy nose in their buisiness when things were finally getting good between him and Lily.

Seth's countenance darkened temporarilly, but he regained his cool and smirked cockilly down at James. "We?" repeated Seth, a note of amusement in his clipped, breezy voice, his gaze icy. "What do you mean we?" Lily's emerald gaze darted back and forth between the two nervously.

"Yes, we." James insisted, looking rather childish. "Me and Lily- my _girlfriend._ Now that we're acquainted, why don't you introduce us to _your _boyfriend."

Seth shrugged indifferently- he apparrently didn't take James as much of a challenge. "I'll see you around, Lily." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver, and James winced. Seth brushed his fingertips against her cheek, before smirking malevolently at James strutting back to his seat at the Ravenclaw table.

"What the hell is your problem? I should've known you didn't change." Lily said coldly, her emerald eyes blazing fiercly as she pulled away from him. She stood up from the table, and quickly exited the great hall, leaving James alone at the table- the entire Gryffindor population watching him in disbelief, even Remus and Sirius, and Lauren, too, glared scathingly at James before following Lily out of the great hall.


	14. Chapter 14

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Fourteen**

"So... do I just go over and talk to her?" James asked Sirius and Remus uncertainly. It had been a week since Lily had stormed out on James and his Jealous outburst. Despite James's numerous attempts to reconcile their relationship, she had dismissed him unbendingly.

"Not if you value your life." Lauren said warningly as she breezed by James, almost carelessly, dragging Remus along behind who shrugged as if to say, "It's either her or you, mate." They were times like these that Lily appreciated their friendship the most- normally, Lauren didn't really mind James- she merely pretended to be annoyed with him to humor herself, but when it came to her friends, (despite how superficial she thought it sounded) Lauren was as loyal as any good girlfriend.

"Yeah," Sirius added in pointedly, grinning jovially. Out of Lily and James's friends, Sirius was the only one to remain optimistic about the situation- except Dakota, who always was good-natured and looked for light in even the most dire or serious situations. "Plus, you look like shit, mate, and your breath wreaks."

"Gee, thanks, Sirius." James said flatly, looking unamused and unnaturally downcast. "You really have a way with words to motivate a guy, mate."

"That's why you love me, babe!" Sirius joked, looking rather smug with himself, and abruptly changing the subject as Dakota floated into the potions dungeon. "Speaking of which," Sirius said, adopting the sloppy, slavish look he had become prone to adapt whenever Dakota was present over the past few weeks. "Here comes _my_ love."

James glanced away as Sirius embraced Dakota, kissing her, and whispering something scandalous in French in her ear that no doubt would have made her blush had she known the meaning. Watching Sirius and Dakota flirting and acting like such a couple only made the pang of loneliness he felt for Lily even stronger.

"What?" Laughed Dakota, her blue-grey eyes sparkling. "I'm Irish, remember? Not

French- I speak Gaellic."

1010020"Yeah, I know." Sirius said with a grin, as he waltzed Dakota over to their table. "But the only things I know how to say in Gaellic aren't very charming. And besides, my French still _sounds_ sexy, right?"

"Yeah, Romeo." Dakota mused, laughing inspite of herself. "It does."

"I don't get why she's so steamed in the first place." James complained ignorantly, sitting opposite Siriusand sliding the cauldron to the side so they could see each other while they talked. "All I di was defend her."

"No offense, mate," Sirius said in a hate-to-break-it-to-you tone, "But you did kind of overreact."

"I don't get it- I try to protect Lily and she dumps me. Ho does that work?" James asked confunded into oblivion. "Most girls love it when their boyfriends take a stand for them."

"Well, Lily is not like most girls." Dakota chimmed in. "She's probably really confused right now, anyways. Trust me- the last thing you want to do is go over there, let her come to you."

"Come again?" James asked, "Please- enlighten me, because I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on with her."

Dakota took a deep breath, heaved a sigh and started. "Well, Seth was Lily's first boyfriend, love, if you will ("I won't." muttered James, giving an unvoluntary twitch.) and they stayed together for four years. So when he dumped her in the beginning of the year, it broke her heart. So, she went into denial, thinking Seth would come back to her at any time, realizing the error of his ways. Then she started to to fall for you and she got scared, confused. After your little episode last week, it was the perfect excuse to drop you like a bad habit and latch onto Seth again, but she feels guilty about you, and angry at herself for feeling that way- not to mention she feels very vulnerable to Seth and an overwhelming obligation him because of their history."

"Wooow..." Sirius said slowly, mouth agape, before his face cracked into a handsome grin. "You are so hot when you're smart."

"God, this is so confusing." James sighed with exasperation, rubbing his tired eyes with his big strong hands. "Analyzing Lily gives me a headache."

"What are you talking about?" Dakota scoffed indignantly, scowling at James. "I did all the analyzing, you just had to listen."

"Whatever, then- trying to _understand_ Lily gives me a headache." James corrected himself, rolling his eyes sarcastically at Dakota.

"Hey, I saw that!" Dakota complained.

"Good morning, students!" came Slughorn's joyful, booming voice as he bounced into the room, looking as walrus-like as ever before. "Now that we are all-" he paused, sweeping his gaze across the room, and frowning in dismay as he observed that James was grouped with Sirius and Dakota, and that Lily had resumed her old seat next to Severus.

"Settled in and comfortable-" Slughorn continued. "Turn to page 120 in your books and gather the materials and ingredients for todays lesson."

"Cheese-is-rice!" Lily squealed in shock and frustration as the potion exploded for the third time that day with a deafening bang and a shroud of ebony smoke that temporarilly obscurred their table. Gagging, Lily fumbled for her wand on the table, but her fingertips could not find the wands polished wooden surface- she must've dropped it during the last explosion. "Sev, help."

Immediately, the smoke subsided. _Cheese-is-rice?_ Severus repeated silently to himself. If he didn't happen to know how pissed off and upset Lily was, he might have laughed- Severus did not practice any religion, nor did he believe in it. Lily, he knew, however- was a good, practicing Irish Catholic. However, he still found it amusing when she said things like, "Cheese-is-rice" to cover up for Jesus Christ.

"Lily, are you alright?" Severus asked her sweetly, getting up from the bench and sitting beside her, running his hand through her hair soothingly. They were times like these that Severus found the most satisfying- it was one of his guilty pleasures. Of course, he felt bad that she was upset, but those moments when he got to play the sensitive, caring, conforting best friend were what made his friendship with Lily so worthwhile. Sometimes, he could almost trick himself into believing that she loved him as he much as he loved her- and she did, just not romantically.

"No." Lily whimpered pathetically, her eyes glassy as she shook her head, her long, red curls bouncing. "No, I'm not."

"Okay, Lils, how bout we go get some vanilla icecream- our favorite." Severus offered generously- she was the only person he could ever care about enough to skip class for. "We could tell Slughorn you're sick."

"Yeah- okay. Ice-cream would be nice." she sniffled, wiping away her runny eyeliner and Severus smiled. "You're such a good friend, Sev. What would I do without you?" she sobbed into his shoulder.

Severus did not respond to this- he knew he didn't have to. Being there for Lily to comfort her, alone, was enough for her.

"Proffessor!" Snape called to the front of the room- loud enough to make sure that the whole class heard (his way of saying, "Hands off, she's mine."), raising his hand interjectedly. "Lily feels rather ill- perhaps I should escort her to the hospital wing?"

"Why yes! Of course. The best wishes for a flighty return to good health, Ms. Evans! You take good care of her, now, Severus." Slughorn said with a slight inclination of his head.

James watched with a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Severus escort Lily out of the class, his arm draped over her shoulder.

"So, Lily," Severus said, digging up a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream from the large carton they were sharing with a spoon. He took a moment to take the bite of ice-cream and let it melt on his tongue before swallowing and continuing. "Are you going to tell me why you're _really_ upset?"

Lily hesitated before answering by swallowing a few gigantic bites of the icre-cream, reluctant to tell him what was really on her mind. "I'm- what are you talking about? I'm fine. I'm just- tired."

"Lily, we're supposed to be best friends. I went with you to the drug store when you got your first period because you were nervous and were too embaressed to tell your mom." Severus said concernedly, edging closer to Lily and looking searchingly into her emerald eyes. "We're supposed to be able to tell each other anything- what's so terrible that you can't tell me?"

Lily sighed, uprooting another huge clump of vanilla bean and devouring it, swallowing slowly. "I already told you, Sev. Everything's fine- I'm just stressed out from all of my Head duties and schoolwork." She felt terrible about lying to Severus, but if she really told him what was troubling her, he would freak and be hurt.

There were at least five minutes of silence that followed, in which they consumed about half the cartons' contents- which was full when they obtained it- before either of them said anything. Severus was first speak up.

"I missed you, Lily." Severus said sounding sincere, but Lily could detect a slight edge in his voice.

'I'm sorry, Sev." Lily said timidly, feeling a little uncomfortable, and she hugged her knees to her chest. "I missed you too."

"Look, I can't beat around the bush anymore, Lils, I just can't." Severus said anxiously. "I saw you with Potter over Christmas- alone. You can't be serious about that loser, can you? Please, tell me no."

"Apparently not. It was foolish of me to think he had changed his ways in the first place. He's an asshole." Lily said vehemently, shoveling yet another large spoonful of ice-cream into her mouth- comfort eating was her only weakness.

This both calmed and shocked Severus- he had never heard Lily call anyone any more than an ignorant toe-rag, hearing her swear was downright shocking. He was almost relieved when he remembered the gossip that was buzzing around the upper classmen. "And the rumors about you and Seth?" he inquired, loooking hopeful.

"What rumors?" she asked quietly, although she had a pretty good idea which one he was talking about, avoiding eye contact with him. She couldn't explain it but, she had always been able to talk to him about anything and everything- so why did she suddenly feel so uncomfortable and like she needed to be secretive?

"You know which rumor I'm talking about, Lily." Severus said in a low, gruff voice, watching her intently, despite the fact that she was looking at her feet.

"We're back together, yes." She said in a barely-there voice after a minute, looking up at him with sparkling eyes. As if she didn't feel bad enough already, the vibes she was getting from Severus weren't exactly making her feel any better.

"What?!" Severus half-shouted. "Lily, no- you can't! Please don't do this! I won't let you."

"Since when do you have authority over who I'm allowed to date or not?" Lily asked coolly, suddenly defensive, her emerald eyes blazing challengingly, as if just daring to contradict her again. "Why would you care anyways?"

"Because- Because-" He sputtered, looking embarressed and abashed. He gently cradled her face in his hands, gazing softly into her eyes, willing himself to take the chance he'd been trying to muster up the courage to do for the past five years. Finally, with a steadying breath, Severus brought his face to Lily's and kissed her, soft and sweet, but full of love, and her eyes widened in shock and surprise.

"Because-" Severus said, pulling away from her, his expression dreamy and loving, "No one could ever love you the way that I love you, Lily."

"B-B-But... I thought you were _gay._" Lily whimpered, suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable. She felt shocked, terrified, and hurt at the same time- exposed and betrayed. She suddenly got angry at him. "I told you everything! Even about my period! You went shopping with me! I even stayed over your house!"

"I know! It's insane!" Snape cried ecstatically, grinning broadly as he seized his dark greasy locks and yanked them in his excitement. His expression suddenly calmed and he gazed at her fondly. "But I've loved you ever since the day I met you. You know me- I'd never hurt you. I'll take care of you, Lily. Let me love you!"

"I think I need to go- get some rest." she said shakilly, standing up and grabbing her backpack, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I have a headache- I'll walk myself."

"Lily, wait!" Severus cried, but she had already sprinted into a run.

With a groan of misery, he sank to his knees in defeat, clutching the ice-cream to his chest and digging into it and shoveling the vanill into his mouth. _I'll never look at vanilla the same way again, _he thought miserably, as a sad, lonely tear shed from his eye.


	15. Chapter 15

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Oh my god- goodness!" Lily screamed into a pillow, throwing herself onto the couch when she reached the common room, causing Lauren's cats to throw a fit; Ghost- a siamese cat with impeccably blue eyes- hissed and jumped off the back of the couch, landing on all fours infront of Lily and eyeing her sneakers with malicious intent, calculating when best was the time to attack, while Lila- a black and white cat with green eyes, nicknamed Puddles- piddled on the hearth rug infront of the fireplace and dissappeared into the darkness.

"Bite me and I'll bite you back." Lily threatened Ghost, narrowing her eyes to slits. Normally, Lily would play with Ghost, teasing him by dangling her shoe up and down in front of him by the laces, but she had no patience for fun and games today. So, instead, she yanked off one sneaker and chucked into a corner on the other side of the common room. Ghost stared her down suspiciously for a few more minutes before scampering off into the darkness, attacking Lily's shoe with unbridled enthusiasm. "Well, there goes another pair of shoes." Lily thought bitterly, as she flung her head face-down into her couch, moaning pathetically as she wallowed in self-pity.

_"Oh my god- goodness!"_

"Lily." James muttered under his breath, running with renewed motivation down the hall upon the sound of her voice. Potions was long over, and now it was double History of Magic- which came only once a month, and James always skipped it.

"Oh Jammy! My most favorite spiffy Gryffie!" Chirped the Fat lady's Portrait when he approached. "Naughty boy! How many times must you be told to stay in class. Perhaps I should notify the Headmaster?"

"No, please. Don't I'm sick!" James begged, looking desperate. This might possibly be the only chance he'd have at speaking to Lily alone- he couldn't risk missing it. "I swear, I just saw Madame Pomphrey, she has me on bed-rest."

"Well, maybe I can make an exception, if you'd kiss my cheek." The Fat Lady said in her most teasing, motherly voice.

"Fine." James groaned exasperatedly. Before pursuing any further action, he checked up and down the hallways to make sure no one was coming. When he was sure the coast was clear, James gingerly pecked the Fat Lady's plump, rosy canvas cheek.

The Fat Lady giggled in her most shrill, girly laugh, blushing to the roots. "Now that's my boy, in you go, Jammy!" She shrieked, swinging forward to admit James into the common room. "And remember, I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." James muttered ignorantly under his breath, rolling his eyes. The Fat Lady was sweet and all, but he already had- and he loved her dearly- his own mother to deman PDPA (public displays of parental affection), nag, fuss, and embaress him- he didn't need another one.

"Don't use that tone withme, mister!" Cried the portrait, and James could just imagine the Fat Lady wagging her finger in dissapproval on the other side, but he ignored her- she was so drunk that it would be amiracle if she remembered anything in the morning.

When he stepped into the common room, Lily was sprawled spread-eagled on the couchher head buried face-first into the cushions, seemingly yelling at herself. Suddenly, Ghost lunged out of the shadows, forgetting about the sneaker, and digging his claws painfully into James knees. "Son of a troll!" he gasped in pain, not wanting to alarm Lily by yelling. He attempted to pry the cat off of him, but the fierce feline was determined to cause James as much pain as possible.

James struggled to remove his wand from his back pocket with one hand, batting away the cat with the other as Ghost clawed him, Lily watching lazilly from her little nook. Finally, with a triumphant cry, he retrieved his wand, aimed and flicked it at Ghost. Instantly, a blue wall of magical electricity shot up between James and Ghost, separating them. Unwittingly, Ghost disregarded the shield charm completely, ramming into it head-first and knocking himself out cold. "Remember that, you demon cat." James muttered, than thought to himself- _I'm a poet, dont'cha know it!_

James and Ghost had a long disliking of each other. It had cost James more than a few scars and bruises, and it had cost Ghost more than a few minor concussions. James didn't mind Lila, though- she did pee alot, but she paid no mind to James, and he was grateful for that.

"Who's there?" Lily groaned miserably, without raising her head, her voice muffled.

"Uhh... Moo- Remus." James invented, slowly making his way to the foot of the couch. If he was careful enough, he might be able to get her to talk to him so he could understand her better.

"Remus?" Lily sniffed into her pillow. "What are you doing here? Maybe I should get back to bed." She made a move to get up, but James snuck around the back of ther couch, coaxing her head back down into the pillow."

"No!" he panicked, then found his cool, and said slyly. "I mean lay down. Get comfortable- close your eyes and relax. Dr. Lupin thought you might need someone to talk to. You seem stressed."

Lily stiffened slightly- was Remus flirting with her or was it just her imagination? She thought, disturbedly. No- she decided- he wouldn't do that, he loves Lauren. Still, she wasn't in the mood for talking- then again, after the day she'd been having, who could blame her? "I don't know." She moaned into the cushions. "The last time I tried _talking_ to someone I got _way_ more than I bargained for."

"Well- uh- would you like to talk about it?" James asked uncertainly- he wasn't very good at saying the right things when they counted. Therapy was Remus's department, not his.

Lily cried for a few minutes into her pillow before wailing, "Severus kissed me!"

"Ughhl! That's disgusting!!" howled James in disgust, his insides bubbling with anger. When he got control over himself, he said in a forced calm voice, "I mean- I see you dilemma."

"No- you understand. I thought he was gay! He even went bra shopping with me!" Lily said despairingly.

James flinched at this, his stomach churning in revulsion. The idea of Snape seeing Lily in a bra was pornographic- and not in a good way. However he swallowed and managed to say calmly, "Oh, Lily- of course he's not gay, the dude's been in love with you for, like, ever. Why else do you think James would give him such a hard time?"

"James only cares about himself and getting what he wants. You saw the way he treated me last week. He acted like I was his property or something, rather than his girlfriend!" Lily scoffed derisively.

"On the contrary, love." James said, soberingly slightly as he plopped onto a recliner and stared listlessly up at the ceiling. "James loves you very much. Did it ever occur that he feel insecure around you so he feels like he needs to compensate by showing off? Or that maybe you've rejected and insulted James so many times that when he finally had a chance to love you he was afraid of losing you so he was territorial and overprotective?"

Lily considered what James said for a few minutes inquiet contemplation. Finally, she answered in a quiet, timid voice, "No. But that doesn't matter, it's over between us. I love...Seth." Her voice sounded false and shaky even to herself.

James picked up on the reluctance and uncertainty in Lily's reply that convinced him otherwise. "Are you sure about that? Surely Christmas must have meant _something_ to you Are you tell ing me that there isn't a small part of you that still loves him?"

"It- it did mean something- Christmas- but I swear to good that if you tell Potter I'll kill you." Lily growled firecely. "If he ever found out how I truly felt- how I love him- he'd never let me be."

"But you love him, why did you dump him?" James asked impatiently, rolling his eyes. Why did women have to make everything so complicated? "He loves you, you love him- you're both happy. It's a win-win scenario."

"You know what? I'm done with talking today." Lily said coolly, in an end-of-disscussion tone, "Maybe you should go now, Remus."

"Yeah, maybe I should." James said, and with that, he got up and strode to the back of the portrait, leaving Lily alone. He'd heard what he wanted, that was all he needed for now.

_"__She said you were to know that she almost lost her mind. And now she says she knows you're not the hurting kind. She says she loves you and you know that can't be bad. Yes, she loves you and you know you should be glad. Ooh! She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. And with a love like that you know you should be glad." _Sirius sang to the famous muggle-band The Beatles's song She Loves You, amid a crowd of adoring, swooning girls.

"She loves me." James said dreamilly as he, Remus, and Sirius began packing up their Herbology tools. He flecked off a piece of dirt that was crusted to his spade absentmindedly.

"Sorry, mate. That was She Loves _You, _not She Loves _Me_, by the brilliant Beatles. John Lennon you are a godsend." Born and raised by a family of muggles, Sirius's girlfriend, Dakota grew up listening to the Beatles and her fascination with the band had actually become an obsession. She could name any date that explicately important and relevent to the Beatles as well as where they were and what they were doing on that day. Sirius had gotten into the annoying habit of singing Dakota's favorite songs by the Beatles.

"No- not the song, you idiot." James cried in exasperation. "Lily- she loves me."

"Erm- no offense, James, but er, didn't she dump you?" Remus asked sensibly, as always the most logical of his friends. "Doesn't that mean that doesn't like you?"

"Yeah she's with _Seth _now." Sirius prodded provocatively. Despite the fact that James knew his friend was only teasing, he didn't have patience for Sirius's slapstick humor at the moment- at least, not when it was aimed at him.

"Shut up." James, flicking Sirius painfully on the nose.

"Hey, I find that offensive!" Sirius complained, a mischievous look in his icy blue gaze as he shared a knowing glance with his friends. Only the Marauders knew that his Animagus-self took the form of a grim. "What do I look like to you a common dog?"

Remus grinned amusedly, understanding the humor behind Sirius's mock-complaint.

"Yeah," James challenged. "Well, I find you offensive for finding me offensive for finding you offensive. You know I don't like that guy."

"Aww- don't be such a spoil sport. Cheer up, mate, I'm only having a bit of fun." Sirius said, unabashedly, clapping James on the back.

"You're always having a bit of fun, Sirius." Remus said matter-of-factly, shoving his notes and textbook into his backpack.

"So, anyways," James said, changing the subject. "I talked to Lily today- during History of Magic."

"How'd you do that?" Remus asked, impressed. Lily had made her intentions perfectly clear that she desired to never speak to James alone, let alone see him.

"I pretended to be you." James said simply, with such the air of someone explaining two plus two equals four to a three year old.

"You did what?" Remus repeated dumbly, unable to comprehend the depth of what James was saying. "How'd you do that?"

"Well, don't worry about it, mate." James said indifferently, grinning mischievously. "I think I got her pissed off- chances are she won't talk to you for the rest of the week."

"Oh yeah- that's reassuring." Remus said scoldingly, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, she's great." James said, obviously still talking about Lily, grinning. "Come on, mates- tea time. Let's get some grub!"

((OOC: For all the non-british readers here, "Tea time" does not mean that they are going to drink tea. It means dinner time. Just wanted to make sure that was clear.))


	16. Chapter 16

**Opposite's Attract:**

**Chapter Sixteen**

A few weeks after Lily's confession, James found himself in the same boat as before their conversation. He was no closer to formulating a plan to win Lily back, and she wouldn't kiss and make-up with him any sooner than she would cut her own head off. What James needed was a little no-strings-attached, uncensored, honest advice from someone- preferably a girl.

He couldn't talk to Lauren without being back-sassed or risking her telling him off to Lily. Dakota was a person who could only give advice on a subject of she had experience with it, and since James was pretty sure she hadn't been dumped by her girlfriend for being an overprotective, insecure jerk, she was out of the question. Also, he wouldn't even consider writing to his mother about it, because she'd give him some weird psychobabble about soul mates. Not to mention his parents were too old to truly relate to James's problem. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had been in their mid-forties when they had James- their first son and only child.

So, that Sunday morning, instead of joining his friends in Hogsmeade, he slumped on an armchair across from Lauren's twelve-year old sister Kelley- the perfect person to help. Kelley could be rude and manipulative sometimes, but James secretly admired her for her sarcastic, slapstick sense of humor and love of pranks, labeling her as a mischief-maker in budding.

"So, Kelley, I was just thinking" James said, trying to sound casual and conversational- as if they talked all the time. "And it occurred to me that you that you're a girl right?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement, but the effect was still so profoundly unbelievable and stupefying as though he had asked her.

Kelley looked up from the Inuyasha manga she had borrowed from Lauren's friend, Brittany and glared at James in annoyance. Was he serious? Everyone knew better than to disturb Kelley when she was reading. _What the hell is insinuating?_ Kelley thought agitatedly

"If it took you twelve years to figure that out, than you're even more retarded than I thought you were." She said coolly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at James. She could sense that he wanted something for her, and when it came to Kelley, she often received, and _sometimes_, on rare occasions, she would give.

James's countenance shifted temporarily into an expression of hurt and indignation, but he regained his composure after a moment. However the brief affliction to his pride was enough and Kelley smirked. "The point is," James said, a slight edge to his voice, "I screwed up, really badly. And, uhh… I need help."

"Does the word 'duh' mean anything to you?" Kelley said, laughing yet again at the look of shock and utter disbelief- obviously he thought himself to be above personal insults. Kelley wasn't being mean, she was just in a feisty and manipulative mood- perhaps she could work this to her own benefit. She was toying with James now, just because he was such easy bait.

"Look, I'm not looking for sarcasm and sass, I'm just very, very, very desperately asking for some advice, okay?" James begged, looking sincere.

"I guess… for a price." She said, grinning deviously.

"Kelley- I'm coming to you as a friend in need. Can you please, for once, set aside personal benefits?"

"You're not my friend, though. We don't even talk, hence my assistance comes with a price."

"Fine," James groaned exasperatedly, looking annoyed and impatient."How much do you want?"

"I don't want your money, James- I can get that from my dad. " Kelley said, her grin widening.

"Well, than what do you want?" James asked, anxious now.

Kelley considered this for a moment, then, with smirk of satisfaction said, "You'll have to do all my homework, _correctly_, for an entire week starting tomorrow, and tonight for dinner you have to wear a pink shirt and my pink "Princess" tiara."

"What the hell? I'm not doing that! You're mental!" James objected, looking outraged.

"I thought you were desperate? But if you're too much of a wuss-bag, I guess I could just-" Kelley started to say, but James had another outburst.

"I am not a wuss-bag! And just to prove it, I'll put them on now!" He summoned Kelley's silver plastic tiara encrusted with pink diamonds spelling "Princess", ramming it on his head, and magically changed the color of his white t-shirt to pink, too infuriated to be embarrassed. Kelley erupted into laughter at the sight of it- he looked so ridiculous that she thought that looking so stupid ought to be illegal.

"So, you were saying?" Kelley asked, once she was able to stop laughing. "What do you want?"

"Well, umm… you heard about Lily dumping me a month ago, right?" James said quietly, shuffling his feet. It was awkward talking about breaking up with someone after dating for only a week in the first place, let alone with a twelve-year old girl, whether he grew up next to her since as long as he could remember.

"James, you pulled a nutty in front of the entire school during the middle of dinner. There isn't a single person in the school whom doesn't know about what happened." Kelley said sarcastically.

"Well, I just… I don't know what to do- I love her. I mean- I wouldn't be so racked up if she didn't get back with Seth, but she did. He's not a good guy, Kelley. You know what he did to Lily before, he can't be trusted. But she doesn't trust me, so…"

Kelley let out an exasperated sigh. "Are all guys dumb or is just you?" Kelley, said, "Why don't you just show her that you know her a lot better than she thinks you do, and that Seth doesn't really care? That is so obvious that I'd have thought that even someone as thick and narrow-minded as you would think of it."

James dismissed the insult, sprinting out of the common room, tiara and all. Right before he left, she snapped a picture of James in his princess attire with her camera. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She laughed to herself, before diving back into her book.

"God, Seth," Lily complained loudly, pushing him away from her roughly, and crossing her arms over her chest, as if to protect herself. "Can't we just, like, talk for five seconds?"

Seth's eyes flashed with annoyance. She could be such a prude. _Hmm,_ Seth thought, _this sounds familiar. Wasn't that why I broke up with her?_ He arranged his face into a charming, apologetic expression, and said smoothly, "Oh, come on, babe. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to have a bit of fun. No one else seems to mind."

"Well, I'm not everyone, Seth, and I do care." Lily said tersely, nibbling half-heartedly on her chocolate-chip cookie, and swallowing. "You know, some people like to actually talk when they go, not be eaten by their date- hickeys aren't exactly a fashion statement."

"What do you mean? Hickeys from me are like a blessing." Seth scoffed. As he caught Lily's furious gaze, he stopped laughing. "And that's why you left James." Seth covered up quickly, but not convincingly. "Just a little reminder."

Lily felt a pang of guilt and longing. James didn't deserve to spoken of like that. He was a perfect gentleman until the night she broke up with him, albeit they had only been dating together for a week. A part of Lily reasoned that James should get some credit, despite the briefness of their coupling, and another part of her also believed that he should be requited, because the one week they had together could not compare with a four-year relationship. "Yeah," Lily said, noncommittally, dropping her cookie. She had suddenly lost her appetite. "Right."

"Sorry, am I being too forward?" Seth asked, trying to sound sympathetic and sorry, though he really couldn't care less. It was all part of the grand design- the bigger picture, and he had to admit that his timing couldn't be any more perfect. Although he had definitely moved on from Lily, it was still his ultimate goal to hook up with the hottest girl in the school. After the upsetting end to her relationship with James, Seth could see that Lily was hurting, and, as far as he could tell, she playing right into the palm of his hands.

Lily didn't respond. After all, what was there to say? She didn't expect Seth to be kind towards James- she didn't even expect that of herself; She couldn't complain about Seth bad-mouthing James, either, because, inevitably, she had been the one to end the relationship. To make any objection would do nothing but make her look foolish- like she still harbored feelings for James, and she didn't- at least, that's what she kept telling herself. Finally with a sigh, Lily shrugged her shoulders.

"Forgive me? Baby?" Seth asked in his most sensitive, soft tone, cradling her face in his hands expertly, and Lily's cheeks reddened, nodding her head timidly, even though she was screaming "no" in her head.

"That's my girl." Seth said, with an almost vindictive grin. He leaned far over the table, beckoning to Lily, as he pulled her into a long, deep kiss. Lily shuddered slightly- it jut felt so terribly wrong, and Seth's kisses were not as heartrending as they had once been, nor did she long for them, and tiny voice deep inside her mind suggested that maybe it was because she truly craved for James's lips. And yet she just couldn't muster the inner-strength to fight him, emotionally and physically.

James froze in mortification where he stood in front of the glass door at Madame Puddifoot's, the door slamming noisily behind him. Half the café turned to stare at him (his attention no doubt captured even more fervently due to James's tacky and rather flamboyant princess attire), including Lily and Seth. After a few minutes of shocked silence, James remembered why he had even come in the first place. "You've got to be bloody kidding me." James growled. "You can't be serious about him."

Lily's cheeks burned in agitation, and she glared coldly at him from her and Seth's booth. Just who did he think he was? Her father? No one had ever talked to her like that since she was four- she had never given them a reason to. She would certainly not tolerate it now- especially not from James.

"Maybe I am- not that that's any of your buisiness." Lily said coolly, her eyes ablaze with emerald fire. "You're the last person to be taken seriously…princess." Seth sniggered appreciatively, and James looked down at his outfit- he'd completely forgotten about Kelley's compromise. Blushing furiously, he snatched off the tiara, and chucked it into a distant corner in the coffee-shop, plead with Lillian.

"Please, Lily, just let me explain-" he begged, looking deeply into her eyes. There- for the briefest second- he saw a mixture of loneliness, longing, and regret, but her gaze quickly hardened, masked again by anger and reluctance.

"Does Lily like tea or coffee?" He shot at Seth, who looked unarmed and taken aback. Was that a challenge?

"Coffee, with sugar and cream." Seth invented, having no idea the legitimacy of what he was saying.

"Ha!" exclaimed James. "Neither- she likes hot water with a lemon-wedge, no sugar. What about her favorite color? Or the shampoo she uses, and what perfume she wears? Did you know that she's a vegetarian? How about her favorite author and book? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, whom's character, Mr. Darcy, Lily is particularly fond of?"

The whole time James spoke, Lily watched in shocked disbelief, and Seth chair just reclined in his chair, smugly. He didn't care. It was true- he had dated Lily for four years, and he knew nothing about her beside the fact that she was the most wanted and attractive female in Hogwarts.

"God, do you even know her birthday?" James pressed on furiously.

"James, I think you should leave now." Lily said quietly, though it impacted James as strongly as it would have it screamed.

"But, Lily-"

"Now!" she raised her voice. James stood where he was, letting his eyes linger on her conflicted face a little longer. Then he left without another word.

"Hey, babe. It's alright." Seth said slowly, reaching forward but she shoved him for Lily to kiss her, but she shoved him away hard.

"Shut up." She snapped, standing up and storming out of the coffee-shop, letting the door slam behind her. She moved quickly, as if on a mission, never looking behind her.

Seth seemed affronted for a few minutes, but quickly got over it. He grinned seductively, flagging down a pretty blonde waiter. "Hey, sexy." He said shamelessly, "You on break?"

"I get off in ten minutes." She said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Who was that girl you were fighting over?"

"My sister," he said with a smirk.


	17. Chapter 17

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Lily went to bed feeling very guilty, very lonely, and very depressed. Why did he always have to screw everything up? Why did he have to be so... James? Yet a nagging feeling in the gut of her stomach antagonized with her obvious denial. Why... does he have to love me so much? She thought, sighing in exasperation. Why do _I _have to love _him_?

Truth be told, she had been asking herself this question a lot lately, but today just made her uncertainties much more profound than they would be on any other day. She tossed and turned restlessly on her otherwise empty bed, feeling vulnerable, which was riduculous- she had grown up with these girls. But she couldn't shake the feeling of being unprotected. She felt inappropriate and kinky just thinking it, but she would give anything to be with James right then. Oh, what she would give to be snuggled up close to him in his warm bed. She remembered how safe and secure she had felt falling asleep beside him every month- she even remembered waking up to holding onto him in the early part of their punishment. And even more, how much she enjoyed waking up to him each morning.

Her lips trembled dangerously, and she felt the moisture gathering in her eyes before the tears even fell, as she drew back the curtains of her bed, looking for anything of which might be of some comfort and felt a slight pressure near the bottom of her bed. She turned her gleaming gaze in the direction and saw Lila's outline, her green eyes luminous in the surrounding darkness- Lauren had probably knocked Lila off the bed in her sleep. Lily grabbed Pride and Predjudice- a romance novel written by her favorite author Jane Austen- which lay on her bedside table and beckoned for Lila who slowly crept up the mattress before she curled into a heap on Lily's pillow, falling asleep immediately- it wasn't often she got a full pillow to herself.

Lily flipped through the pages, which were wrinkled and torn from being read so many times, until she reached the part she had practically memorized , but read just out of habit- petting Lila's fur as she did so- when Elizabeth recieves a letter from Mr. Darcy and realizes she is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. Her eyes brimmed with tears again and spilled over once they were too full, as she made the same realization that Elizabeth had. "James...Mr. Darcy." She uttered in a quiet, strangled cry.

Lily let a pitiful moan escape her throat, and sniffed, dabbing at her wet eyes with her sheets. When at last she couldn't stand the silence anymore, she got up and tread carefully across the dorm to Lauren's bed. Feeling as weak and childish as a four-year-old, she sat gently on the bed and whispered, "Lauren.

"No, Remus." Lauren muttered dreamilly in her sleep, a small smile curling the corners of her lips upward. "We can't do that."

"Lauren?" Lily said again, shaking her friend slightly. Lauren roused slowly, sitting up as she tried to transfer from her dream state into consciousness. When she finally did come to her senses, she looked annoyed and confused.

"What are you doing, you freak? It's the middle of the night." Lauren grumbled, groggy, fumbling around the nightstand for her glasses, the better to see Lily. When her fingers touched the cool metal, she put on her glasses, and glared, puffy-eyed at Lily.

"I can't sleep," Lily said meekly, scrambling beneath the sheets to stay warm. Lily would not have felt crawling into any other girls bed, but this was Lauren. Lily and Lauren had known each other for so long and had been through so much together that they were more like sisters than friends.

"So you had to make me suffer, too?" Lauren said softly, with an agitated edge to her voice. She leaned back against the pillows and turned to look at Lily, who looked absolutely devastated- a rare sight indeed. This is only making things worse, I always fall to pieces in front of Lauren, Lily thought as Lauren's features softened slightly, concerning chasing the ignorance from her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Lauren asked gently, hugging Lily comfortingly. Well, there it goes, Lily thought, clinging to her, fresh warm tears flowing from her anguished emerald eyes.

"I love him, Lauren." Lily whimpered pathetically. "What have I done? I love him so much that it hurts. I can't eat, I can't sleep! I can't even think! I don't know what to do."

"Who do you love? Seth?" Lauren asked, unable to keep the contempt from her voice when she spoke Seth's name. She was the one who had spent endless days and nights trying to console Lily after Seth dumped her for not sleeping with him.

No." Lily groaned, burying her face further into her friends hair, as though ashamed of herself.

"James?" Lauren quipped intuitively. It was a statement, not a question.

Lily remained quiet, her only response to gently incline her head, her forehead grazing Lauren's shoulder. Lauren smirked, though Lily would not be able to see it. She had known that already. It wasn't something that had to be declared- Lily had practically been a zombie since the break-up.

"Well, then, you know what you have to do, don't you?" Lauren asked sternly, pulling a little away from Lily so she could look her in the eyes, giving her the classic "Mom" face.

"No," Lily said stubbornly, knowing very well what had to be done, as she turned her face away to escape Lauren's scrutiny.

"Lily," Lauren said seriously, "look at me. I know you love him. Look at you, you look like shit. Seth doesn't deserve you."

"You don't understand, though," Lily countered, "Me and Seth were together for three years. That has to count for something."

"Maybe to you, but he could care less." Lauren said sympathetically, "You saw how quickly he dropped you when you didn't give him what he wanted. If he loved you then he would have respected your decision that you weren't ready, and he would have stayed with you."

"He came back." Lily argued weakly.

"He never should have left." Lauren said.

"I know." Lily said somberly. "But he's all that I have now. I already screwed up my chance with James. I'd be surprised if he didn't hate me."

"Don't you think that you should at least give it a chance and try to make up with him?" Lauren persisted. "To find love, you have to be open to it- you taught me that."

"No. How can I expect him to forgive me when I don't even want to forgive myself?" Lily said.

"Well, make a stand for him Lily. Prove to him that you want him. You might regret it for the rest of your life if you don't." Lauren coerced.

"I can't." Lily said.

"Why?"

"Because-" She hesitated. "Because, I don't think I could handle that degree of rejection. I would die."

"Oh, Lily." Lauren sighed, as Lily snuggled and she stroked her soothingly. "Sweetie, how do you think James has felt all these years?"

"That's why I can't do it," Lily cried.

~ONE DAY LATER~

By the time James arrived at Potions the next morning, he was almost fifteen minutes late and most the class had already paired up together. Even Peter had a partner. In fact, surprisingly, Lily was the only person in the entire class that wasn't sitting with anyone. He made sure not to meet her gaze, which was a hard thing to do seeing as they were such a lovely, stunning shade of green and had always held a point of interest for him- as he walked by her taking a seat at a vacant desk at the back of the class.

Lily almost shrank in her robe, discouraged and disheartened by his ignorance. In the past, James would have been thrilled at her lack of partnership, and more than willing to take advantage of the opportunity to flirt and embaress her. Now, he recoiled from her, not even daring to look at her. She bit her lip in an attempt to stiffle a sob, and threw a despaired look at Lauren, who motioned for her to join her and Remus, but Lily shook her head. If James was going to be her partner, they would have to interact on some level.

"Rough morning, eh, Mr. potter?" Greeted Professor Slughorn in his usual cheery disposition. "You'll be needing a partner today. Would anyone be willing to make room for James?"

James closed his eyes and groaned. Sirius was too infatuated with Dakota to even hear Slughorns request, Remus would do the right thing if worst came to worst, but otherwise preferred to work solely with Lauren, and it was evident that word of James' pink attire from the day before had spread even faster than he thought- no one was likely to want to partner with Princess James. Shockingly, though, Lily's hand shot up instantaneously, a determined look set on her expression.

"Ah, Miss. Evan!" Professor Slughorn cried out in delighted surprise, shocked about Lily's bold move as much as everyone else. "A most splendid partnership indeed. Now, good sir, please take your seat next to Lillian."

James gathered up his books, cooking spoon, and ingredients again, and took his place at lily's table, seeting down his belongings a bit harder than necessary with a loud thump before laying his head down on his arms and staring at nothing in particular. A shiver rand down the length of her spine-she found this new sullen, sober James somewhat unsettling. Forcing back another shudder, she reached toward James and gently grasped his hand, eyes begging for forgiveness- for him to look at her. "Hey, James." She breathed timidly.

Still not looking at her, James turned her hand over, and ran his finger down the length of the longest line in her palm, before shoving it away impatiently. "Hello, Lillian," he said unemotionally. She withdrew from him, stung.

She started flipping through the pages in her notebook to the first clear page and started writing down the materials and instructions for the potion they would concocting that day- Amortencia.

"James?" She said quietly, setting down her quill after finishing. She gazed imploringly at him, and he finally, unwillingly, looked at her.

"What?" He asked, despising the unintentional power she held over him and the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he could not ignore her.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday." Lily appologized sincerely, her sad green eyes boring into his bespectacled hazel eyes. "I didn't mean- I mean, Seth had no right."

"No, he didn't." James said flatly.

"What I'm trying to say is- it's over between us- for real this time." Lily said.

"Lily, I get it. You love him, it's over." James replied listlessly, giving her a lame smile. "You don't have to be nice to me, you know. We're just partners for the class."

"No." Lily shook her head, "You don't understand. I broke up with Seth last night because...he hurt you, and I... didn't like it. I'm not trying to be nice or sympathetic. I want to be nice to you... to be with you."

James almost smiled, and tried to ignore the small glimmer of hope that bloomed into life in his chest. He started adding the ingredients into the cauldron, as did Lily, and his hand brushed hers. They didn't attempt to lower or move their hands, but allowed them to linger together for the barest of minutes, exchanging a glance before returning to work. Already, Lily and James were aware of the seductive aroma the fumes of the potion were giving off.

Lily inhaled the familiar scents engulfing their table. She had grown so accustomed during the time she had spent with him between dating and their punishment. After more than a week in the absense of James' signature scent, Lily found it pleasant and comforting to be surrounded by it once more. She allowed the collective aroma to overwhelm her- pinewood, soap, a faint, but distinct musk, and chocolate. It smelled so good that she longed to embrace James, to melt in his arms and drown herself in his lovely scent.

But she couldn't. It would be inappropriate and seeing as how he hadn't even forgiven her yet, assuming he would, considering the multitude of harsh rejections she had subjected him to in the past.

Lily closed her eyes briefly, to find her center of control, as she felt as though her head were reeling and her stomach plummeting, then returned to the potion, stealing glances at James whenever he looked in the opposite direction, and hating herself for ever letting this happen.

The rest of the class passed by in silence between the two, and when it came to an end, James took his time putting his supplies back into his backpack, hoping that Lily would quickly, so he could be left alone to his thoughts. But, yet again to his surprise, she didn't disperse among the crowd of other students as he had hoped she would. She didn't even bother collecting her belongings. She just stood up watching James, shiny-eyed and unmoving. When James slung his backpack over his shoulder and straightened up to leave he could no longer procastinate looking at her.

Lily did not know what motivated her to do it, but as soon as James stood upright, she quickly crossed the few feet that lay between them and threw herself into his arms, tears stinging her eyes as they evacuated, breathing in deeply the smell of his chest. "J-James, I'm s-so sorry!" She choked through her tears, holding tighter still onto his waist.

Shocked, James didn't move or say anything for a few minutes. Then, silently berating himself for doing so, he relinquished his grip on the strap to his backpack and allowing it to fall loudly to the floor, gently wrapping his strong arms around Lily, and resting his head on her shoulder. What the hell am I doing? He thought to himself as his stomach tightened into a knot from the overwhelming collection of emotions, his heart pumping so loudly that he was surprised that it hadn't already exploded from his chest.

Lily closed her eyes as James comforted her, for the first time not afraid to open herself up to him as she cried, letting out all of the suffocating emotions that had been welling up inside of her for over a week. Despite how vulnerable she felt, she felt safe with James. Her whole body ached with sadness and longing, her heart sore. Taking a long, shuddering breath, she spoke:

"I'm so sorry; if anyone should be feeling bad for themselves than it should be you, and your comforting me and I don't even deserve it." Lily stammered, drying her eyes on the shoulder of his shirt, and smiling weakly up at him. "You should hate me- I wouldn't be surprised if you want nothing to do with me. But - But do you think we could try to be friends?"

James heaved a deep sigh, stroking Lily's long red curls, before answering her. "Lily, I don't know how to be your friend. I never have, and I probably never will."

"Oh, um, right." Lily stammered, taking a step back, and preoccupying herself with putting her supplies away so he couldn't see the look of disappointment on her face. "I understand."

"Lily... I only said I didn't know how to be your friend, I never said I wouldn't try." James said, seizing her hand, grinning. "Meet me at the Quidditch pitch after dinner?"

Lily's face lit up with hope, and an authentic smile graced her face. Abandoning her bag, she rushed to embrace him again, quickly kissing the side of his (the highest point she could reach on him when he was standing up straight, seeing as he was a whole head taller than her) and sending a shiver of excitement coursing throught the both of them. When she released him, it was only then that she realized the black smudges of mascara on his shirt. "Sorry," she appologized with a grimace.

"Don't worry about that," he said, "It was bound to get dirty after lunch anyway. Double Herbology, remember?"

"Oh, right." Lily realized, picking up her bag as they headed for the exit. The weaved their way in and out of the dungeons together and up the stairs into the entrance hall. As they made their way to the great hall for lunch the conversation was light and amiable, and both glowed with the prospect of hope and happiness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Eighteen**

"What are you supposed to wear to Quidditch practice?" Lily asked uncertainly, chewing unconsciously on her bottom lip. She stood in front of a full-length mirror by her open wardrobe in the girl's dormitory, clad in a fluffy white bathrobe, her school uniform thrown carelessly on the floor. She ran a hand through her tangled, damp red hair, which had already begun to curl.

Lauren rolled her eyes behind her book from her bed, thoroughly bored and annoyed with the conversation already. Lauren was conservative, and had always found girls that spent hours deciding what to wear before meeting a guy vain and foolish. Lily usually did not fall into this category, not that she needed to- she could wear rags and still look like royalty. Today, though, she was being a bit obsessive, and it wasn't even a big deal, really.

"How am I supposed to know? I don't like sports remember?" Lauren said exasperatedly, throwing her book across the room in resignation, and leaning back against the pillows. "Why do you care so much anyway? You look good in everything you wear- just throw on a t-shirt and some jeans; it's not even a real date is it? You're just going as friends aren't you?"

Lily pouted. Lauren could be so cynical when she was hungry- they were only five minutes late for dinner, but Lily knew that Lauren was secretly strangling her with her mind

She wouldn't admit out loud exactly how hurtful her friends remark had been, but inwardly she felt as though she were about to cry. Things just started looking up for her again, today, and Lauren had to rain on her parade with her unintentional pessimism. Despite the fact that Lily knew that it would be perfectly fair if James decided he only wanted to be friends, and that she should be grateful for even that, she had had a taste of what life without loving James would be like and the only thing that she could do was hope.

Lily disappeared into her magically expanded wardrobe again, removing a pair of faded black jeans, a warm black v-neck sweater, and grey suede winter boots. Then, shrugging out of her robe, she got dressed, making sure to tuck her jeans=2 0into her boots, and dried her red hair using her wand so that it fell below her shoulders in shiny casual curls.

With a worried glance at Lauren's impatient face, she decided to skip on doing her make-up manually, and quickly applied that with magic too. Grabbing her dark grey scarf, she held up her hair and arranged it around her neck before steeping into view again. "So, how do I look?" Lily asked timidly, even though she knew that she was really pushing her luck by asking- she needed the reassurance.

"Smashing," Lauren replied testily without really looking as they set off down the stairs at a sprint , and Lily barely resisted the urge to flick her ignorant friend. "If we missed dinner, I'll kill you." She complained again.

"I highly doubt it Lauren, we're only ten minutes," Lily sighed, "But if we did we can stop by the kitchens."

"The what?" Lauren said blankly, "It's hidden isn't it? That's why nobody goes there."

"Yes and no." Lily responded, a blush creeping up her neck. "James and his friends go there- you know the portrait of the fruit bowl? Just tickle the pear and that's how you get in. Just mention that you know James and they will be more than willing to help- they like him."

"Who are they?" Lauren asked suspiciously.

"The house-elves." Lily replied.

"Ahhh, I see. Hmm…It explains where he always gets all the food for our parties." Lauren said slyly, suddenly taking interest. Lily got the distinct impression that she would be seeing much less of her best friend now that Lauren and her stomach now had a consistent and varied amount of food at their disposal. "That could come in handy."

They arrived at a still-thriving Great Hall, the students, the students chatting fngflgnganimatedly between bites. Glancing at the clock, Lily pointed out to Lauren that dinner still lasted for another thirty minutes, and they took their seats at Gryffindor table. Lauren took a seat between Lily and Remus, and Lily sat opposite James, Sirius, and Dakota, James already dressed in his Quidditch year. He offered Lily a warm, charming smile, and she blushed, knowing that all was already forgiven.

"Hey, James." She said bashfully, smiling radiantly, before taking a bite of her steak-and-kidney pie.

"Hey, Lil'" James replied, seizing her free hand, and holding it softly, Lily's cheeks blushing even more profusely. Her fork fell to the floor with a clatter, and she bent to retrieve it, but20James stopped her. "Never mind," he said politely, handing over his own fork. "You can use mine, I'm already satisfied, anyway."

"Thanks," Lily giggled unintentionally, feeling as foolish as a schoolgirl with a crush. There was something incredibly sexy about the way he said 'Satisfied'. She gladly accepted his fork and dug into her food with small, hurried bites- she couldn't wait to be alone with him- at least for the walk, anyways. "I'm such a klutz."

She was aware of a sharp jab to her left ribcage and turned to look at Lauren who sported a dopey, sappy expression. "What are you?" Lauren teased, "High?"

Lily looked at the others. Lauren seemed to be enjoying watching Lily's reactions, Remus was observing her and James with a look of interest, Dakota seemed to be finding Lily amusing as well, because she couldn't suppress a giggle when she waved to Lily in greeting. "Hey, Lily." Sirius joked in a very good imitation of James, lowering his voice to a sexy husky semi-whisper the way James did when he spoke to Lily before laughing.

Lily blushed again, grinning sheepishly, as James flicked Sirius ignorantly.

"Hey, Sirius." She replied, leaning back in her seat, arms and legs spread open wide, allowing a red curl to fall casually into her eyes as she imitated Sirius's posture.

"Ah, I see- you think you're funny don't you?" Sirius scoffed, smirking. "Very funny, very funny."

"Mmhm," Lily said vaguely, reassuming her own, straight-backed posture as she returned her gaze to James. He watched back intently at her, holding her gaze.

That was how the rest of the meal passed- there was not much eating done on Lily's part, though Lauren, being the good sport that she was, openly resolved to finish off the remainder of Lily's food. Lily mostly exchanged small talk with James, holding his hand under the table. Finally James stood up and walked to the other side of the table to help Lily off the bench. "Ready, Lily?" he asked cheerily, as she held onto his shoulder, hopping lithely off the bench.

"Yup," She replied, glowing almost. They started to walk away, amid many stares not only from their own house, but the others as well, and even Dumbledore, perched in his decadent Headmaster's chair at the high table seemed to be pleasantly shocked.

"Oh, wait! Lily's going to practice too, is she?Well, shall we make this a group thing, then?" Sirius perked suddenly, already moving to stand up to join, but quickly reacquiring his seat after a sharp, warning look from James over his shoulder. "Righto, then," Sirius said, with an encouraging grin, "Enjoy yourselves then."

~

James and Lily walked hand in hand across the Hogwarts grounds, taking extra care to walk slow so it would last longer. It wasn't enough- she wanted to get closer. Almost as if he had read her mind, James released Lily's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. She couldn't help grinning, as she shivered slightly in delight.

James tried to ignore the tightening of the muscles in his stomach as he kept a firm, but gentle grip on Lily, trying to maintain focus. What he really wanted was to hold and kiss Lily, and to tell her he loved her. But he couldn't- not yet. He wasn't sure what Lily wanted with him- then again, he was never sure about Lily. She was unpredictable, and changed her mind so quickly. Did she just want to be his firend- or did she want... something more?

He didn't know- he had always thought of kissing and hugging to be something privvy to only a significant other, but Lily was always kissing and hugging her friends. He shook his head, resolving not to think about it. She doesn't seem to mind the contact now, anyways, James told himself. Infact, she seemed to be enjoying it.

"So, what's the story, Lily?" James asked casually, pulling her closer to his side as they walked.

"Story?" Lily echoed blankly, playing dumb. Did they really have to get into this? Wasn't it enough that she was there with him? "What story? What do you mean?"

"I mean about you and me? Why are you really here with me?" James asked, feeling sheepish.

"Isn't it obvious? Do you really have to ask me that?" Lily asked, slightly defensive, though she didn't really know why she had even taken offense. She bit her lip awkwardly, her tone losing it's slight edge. "Don't you understand?"

"I want you to say it, Lily." James said seriously. They had stopped walking now and stood facing each other, Lily up to her knees in snow. Lily could feel her breathing pick up its pace- her heart pumping so loudly that she was afraid he would hear it beating. He was leaning closer now, his expression earnest, gaze intent. She could feel his breath on her face now- warma and minty. "I want you to tell me you are here with me now."

"Now?" She replied, almost as though in a trance, unable to keep her eyes off him. James was aware of this, and he grinned, closing the space between them and cupping her chin in his hand, lowering his face to hers and stopping just a few inches from her lips. She wasn't fighting him- Lily closed her eyes and let his breath wash over her, relaxing. It felt completely natural.

Slowly his mouth met Lily's to softly kiss her, and she seemed to melt into him. It was as if his lips- everything about him- had been perfectly molded to fit her, to balance each other out. "Tell me the truth," he said quietly a few minutes later, as he pulled slightly away from her.

Again, yet another surprise. Lily just seemed to be full of them today, as she opened her eyes and smiled, looping her arms around his neck, and pulling him enthusiastically back into a kiss. James responded eagerly, almost forgetting what he had asked her, plastering Lily to his chest, cradling her neck and kissing her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Lily broke away from him, breathing heavilly, flushed. "I love you." she admitted breathlessly, resting her head against his chest.

"I've always loved you, Lily." James said, his inner-romantic shining through, holding Lily to himself, and stroking her hair. He felt as though his heart were going to fly right out of his mouth, thats how light it was, and he couldn't help grinning- he hadn't felt this great in weeks. He finally understood John Lennon's "All you need is Love", which he had heard Sirius singing along to with Dakota on numerous accounts. All he did need was love- all he need was Lily.

Lily tried to calm her hyperactive heart, only to find that it wouldn't steady. It beat so hard and fast that it almost hurt. She pressed her ear to James's chest to listen to the quick tempo of his own heart beating, before placing his hand over her heat, so he could feel it beat as she kissed him again. He could feel her heart beating underneathe his hand in short, uneven spurts, and his stomach fluttered.

Then... a sudden burst of laughter made Lily and James jump apart in shock as they turned around to face the source of the sound. Lily was annoyed and embaressed at the distraction and it clearly showed on her face as her blood rushed to her cheeks, staining them a deep crimson, and glared at the perpetrators; James was merely confused at the group of six that stood before him until he remembered about practice.

"Hey, Sexies!" Shouted the fifth year Gryffindor Kennedy in his heavy Cockney accent.

"James is in love!" taunted Mark Mazaack, in a rather convincing French accent. "It is fate!"

"Ew, Lily, wash your mouth out." Ana Lucia, a fellow seventh-year said, smirking.

"Get a room," said Lochlan McCallister in his thick Scottish brogue.

"Please don't." replied Lochlan's twin brother Kieran. "Being single sucks."

"Nice one, James," whooped James' biggest admirer, Asher Rose, "Best girl and beautiful!"

"Shutup, you lot of manky old rats!" James mock-growled- he was too happy to be really angry at his nosey teammates. "Now, get lost. Practice is cancelled." He pulled Lily to him, and kissed her cheek, grinning widely, so there were no misunderstandings.

"What?" Protested a shocked Mazaack- Quidditch was always James's top priority- what gave? "But there's a game tomorrow! Have you completely lost your marbles?"

"Your whipped, man!" exclaimed Kieran, outraged.

"Damn straight." James called, "Now make like a banana and split, before I split you."

His team grumbled and complained as they turned and began trudging through the snow, back the way they had come

"Well- so much for being friends." Lily said.

"I made no promises." James replied with a grin.

"I'm glad," Lily said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Opposites Attract**

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Lily, wake up!" Sirius bellowed from the common room at the foot of the stairs leading to the girls dormitory. Lily shifted and grunted in her sleep, pulling the fluffy goose-feather pillow over her head, and scrunching her eyes shut. The loud clamoring persisted and she finally groaned, getting up. She pulled on a robe and stepped into her slippers before ambling down into the common room, glancing puffy-eyed at James's best friend.

"Aren't you supposed to be bothering your own girlfriend?" Lily said grumpily, her eyes partially obscured by a mass of slightly tousled curly red locks.

"Ah, Evans." Sirius joked good-naturedly, flashing her his most charming grin, and it was so effective that Lily's aggravation melted away. "Every girl is Sirius's girlfriend."

Lily raised an eyebrow at Sirius's use of the third person in speech and he replied with a smirk, "Sirius will sometimes use the third person."

"Really, Sirius, it is much too early in the morning for humor." Lily said groggily, "What time is it anyway?"

"Five am." Sirius stated. "And practice is running half an hour late because Jah-mez won't get his lazy arse up."

"Jah-mez?" Lily inquired, a confused wrinkle appearing in the middle of her forehead.

"James," Sirius clarified, in a tone that suggested his reply was the most obvious thing in the world. "It occurred to us last night that our names are not even remotely spelled the way they sound , therefore James is now Jah-mez and I am Sir-I-us."

"Oh, right." Lily said, rolling her eyes, feigning annoyance, even though she did find their weird antics amusing. If she was too nice Sirius might take it upon himself to wake her up this early every day, and, like Lauren, Lily was not so pleasant when awakened in the wee hours of the morning, especially on weekends. "So, shouldn't you be harassing James right now, instead of me?" she asked.

"I have been harassing James, but he's, like, dead or something. I was hoping that you would have better luck with, err…arousing him." He grinned cheekily, obviously amused with his own clever selection of vocabulary.

"Fine," Lily agreed tiredly, and allowed him to lead her to the dormitory, stumbling occasionally on carelessly thrown objects. They quietly stole into the sleepy dorm.

Remus was snoozing on the end side of his bed, nearly invisible beneath a shroud of blankets, snoring so fiercely it was almost a growl. Peter lay scrunched into the fetal position, twitching every so now and then, mumbling in soft, panicked tones, sucking on his thumb. Daffyd Rodgers, Neal O'Leary, Conner Swanson, Matthew Carson, and a few members of the Gryffindor quidditch team slept peacefully, one of them moaning, "Oh, Mona!"

James lay on his stomach, clutching his pillow tightly to his chest, and grinning dreamily. The one empty bed that was empty Lily assumed belonged to Sirius. It was between James and Remus's bed, and had been completely stripped of all its' bedding, the pillows strewn on the floor- apparently, Sirius was as restless asleep, as he was when he was awake.\

"Well, then, I'll just leave you to it, then, Lil's, g'luck!" He said briefly, before dodging quickly out of the door, allowing it to slam so loudly that Lily half-expected everyone to awaken and jump in alarm. Ironically, none of the slumbering boys took any notice of the loud disturbance.

"Pst… James!" Lily whispered, edging closer to James's bed- no response. She lifted one of his massive, muscled arms. God, he was heavy! She smirked a little bit, allowing his arm to fall from her grasp, and letting it thump against the mattress. He muttered incoherently and rolled onto his back, his blankets cascading onto the floor, giving Lily a lovely view of his muscled eight-pack stomach. She gasped- he was only wearing boxers!

"James!!" She hissed, slightly louder, delivering a loud spank to his chest. He grunted a little, and Lily could have sworn she saw him peek through one eyelid, but it shut quickly. Ha! Lily thought. So he was awake! Well, then, she knew just what to do to get him up.

"James," She said silkily, letting his name roll off her tongue like a fine wine. She slumped slightly, allowing her robe to slip off her shoulders and pool around her on the floor, standing beside his bed, gently gliding her hand up an d down his arm, then his broad chest. She felt him twitch involuntarily beneath her skin and suppressed a giggle. She bent closer still so she was standing directly over him, and whispered saucily in his ear, "James, I'm naked."

That did it- James sat up straight, nearly bumping her head in the process, eyes flying open. He took in her cami and shorts pajama set and grinned delightedly. In all honesty, she was not naked, but it was even better. She wore little enough to catch his interest, and enough to drive him wild with suspense. He always liked a little mystery, and imagining what Lily looked like without pajamas on was maddening.

With a low, guttural growl, he grabbed Lily and flipped her onto the bed, rolling on top of her. He pinned her down, not that he needed to- and she giggled, wrapping her arms around him as he kissed her fiercely.

"Mmm…" he hummed into her neck, as he buried his face in her flaming hair, and she could feel his adam's apple vibrate against her skin, her stomach flipping giddily. "Vous-lay vous couchez avec moi?" He rumbled softly in her ear. He wasn't fluent in French like Sirius, but he knew some common basic phrases.

"Non!" Lily hissed, looking appalled and indignified that he would suggest such a dirty thing when his best friends and half of his quidditch team were just a few feet away, even though she knew he was just kidding... sosrt of.

For a minute, James was worried that he had actually offended Lily and began weeding his mind for a quick save, but she surprised him- she seemed to be full of them lately. Grinning warmly- and was that a hint of mischief he detected in her emerald eyes- and she rolled out from underneath him, perching on his chest lightly. She leaned over his face, so her hair tickled his shoulder and said softly, "Embrassez-moi, James."

Momentarilly shocked, he stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at her. He didn't need to speak French fluntely to understand what she just said, but yet he could just not comprehend it. Was she intentionally being sexy with him? Surely, he must be dreaming. Well, if that's what it was, than it was the most vivid fantasy he had ever had, and he was certainly going to enjoy it.

Lily giggled in her I'm-being-so-naughty way again and it sent shivers down his spine. There was no way he could be dreaming- it was just too real. He realized how silly he must look, gaping at her, when she bent her head and kissed him again, setting off fireworks of adrenaline coursing through him.

It was different from all the other times they had kissed- for once she was not shy, or confused, or angry, or an emotional basket case. She was not holding back- it was heated, passionate, unbridled affection. It was touching, really, and nearly overwhelming. Best wake-up call ever, James thought contentedly to himself.

After a tender ten minutes, and much too soon for James, she pulled away from, pinning him to the pillows with her arms, her expression suddenly buisinesslike and serious. "Now," Lily said with a grin, clamboring away from him and sliding off the bed, "You need to wake up your team-mates and hussel. You're nearly an hour late for practice. The game is in three hours and you still need to eat and get ready and dressed."

"Huh?" James, still dazed slightly from the shock of Lily being so intimate. He felt weightless and cheerfuland lazy, all at the same time, in a way that he assumed a stoner must felt after having himself a big fatty. "Wh- you're going to leave? Just like that?" He asked, as she pulled her robe on over her pajamas, and he followed her to the door.

"Yup." Lily said with a teasing smirk, "Hop to it, and I'll see you at breakfast." She gave him a quick that left much to be desired after the serious snogging they had just done a few minutes ago before parting.

"You really should wear lingerie to class, Lily." He called, but she had already left and did not hear him. Still smug, he began arousing his team, dressing in his quidditch gear as he did so.

With half an hour to spare beofre the game began, Lily and co enterred the quidditch pitch to watch- much to both houses disgust- the Gryffindors and Slytherins practice together. They flocked together, toward the stands, donned supportively in the Gryffindor colors- scarlet and gold, their arms laden with banners, noisemakers, and part-poppers.

Lauren, Remus, and Dakota sported red t-shirts with yellow long-sleeved shirts underneath, and Lily donned James's team jacket- scarlet with gold accents and his last name as well as the Gryffindor lion embroidered on the back. Her flaming red ponytail stuck out of the back of a matching red baseball hat that she had magically designed way back in her first year, not long after she was sorted. Serious looked quite nonsensical, wearing a lion mask much too large for his head that possessed the kind of life-like quality that could only be perfected by magic.

When they arrived at the pitch, it was to find that others had already migrated there. A dozen or so Gryffindors stood on the stands cheering whenever one of their team, mostly James, made a particularly tricky stunt, more than twenty feet over head. A shy, soft-spoken fifth-year Ravenclaw Lily recognized as Ramdon Cassington was attempting to romance a beautiful Hufflepuff, whoms friends- sitting a few rows behind- giggled foolishly. And- seated in the box-stand reserved solely for the Slytherin house- was a small group of six Slytherins- including Severus, who seemed to take notice of Lily before she even saw him, for he was staring directly at her.

Even from the immense distance the stood apart from each other, Lily could see that he was grinning- the look of joy and unbridled affection adapted whenever he saw Lily completely overlooked and unnoticed to everyone but her.

Months before, Lily had forgiven Severus for his betrayal, and- though Severus's love was as ardent and pure for her as ever, and much to his despair- they had made up and agreed to be friends again. Still pleasant and hopeful as ever, Severus waved to her, and Lily realized he had cut his hair, so that it now hung to his shoulders, straight and cut somewhat jaggedly. The look was edgy and shabby-chic, but she had to admit, it suited him well. Smiling warmly, Lily returned his greeting enthusiastically, before they returned to their previous conversations with their freinds.

When Lily turned to face her friends, though, she was quickly disheartened by their expressions. Embaressment, dissapproval, and annoyance were clearly etched on all of their faces. She sat down and stared skyward, pretending to watch the teams practice, while really lamenting the fact that that did not understand her. They knew how close she was with Severus and how much he meant to her- she just wished they didn't always make her feel so guilty about it.

Obviously, her dissappointment must have shown in her expression because no longer than a few seconds had passed before she was embraced by the four of all smothered her cheeks with playful kisses, begging her forgiveness and she fought to maintain a passive expression even though she had already forgiven. Hugs and love made everything better.

" Cheer up, Chicky." Sirius said enlighteningly, flashing her delightful grin. "We only dissapprove of it because we love and care about you. You're like the sister I never had, I can't help but want to wreak hell on anyone that pursues you... unless, of course, if it's James. He can be trusted."

"Not that it's any of you buisness, but Severus is nothing more than just a really close friend of mine. You could be nicer, you know. He's not even half as bad as you think. Ever since Petunia decided to ignore my existance, he is the closest thing to a sibling I have, and he's always been sweet, and proper, and taken good care of me. So, why is it to say that he cannot be trusted?" Lily tried to reason but Sirius interrupted before she could finish.

"That's all very good and well, Lily." Sirius persisted, trying to get the point through to her without sounding judgemental or argumentative. "He hangs out with those creeps that call themselves 'Death Eaters'. And you know how they feel about muggle-borns. What he feels about muggle-borns."

Lily winced slightly, biting her lip, before jumping to her oldest firends' defense. "We've already discussed this. He didn't mean it those times, he was just putting up an act so that those Death Eaters wouldn't be suspicious of anything. Being in Slytherin isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sev tells me all the time how depressed he is there, how he doesn't fit in, and how the Death Eaters threaten him into doing and saying cruel things. They threaten to kill him. Sev has told me he's even thought about killing himself just so he wouldn't have to suffer from it anymore, and that the only thing that keeps him going on is having me as a friend."

Sirius shot a meaningful glance at Remus, using his eyes to beg for help. Remus sighed audibly, chewing the inside of his cheek, an old habit he took to whenever he was nervous or in deep thought, choosing his words carefully.

"Lily," Remus said softly, slowly. "We know that... you and Severus are really great friends, but... when all comes down to it, he's a Slytherin, and on top of that, he's a guy. He's in love with you, and just you being his friend is enough to give him hope. He's very serious about you, and when guys get upset or stressed, we can't always control ourselves. And you heard about what him and his Death Eater's did to Amanda Lyn last month- that was really cruel. Despite how kind and sweet he displays himself around you, you know he has a mean streak. He's dangerous, and if you're not careful, you could get hurt. He could hurt you."

Getting a little annoyed, Lily replied sharply, "We've swam together, slept over each other's houses, he even went bra-shopping with me! If he were to try to do harm or take advantage of me in any way, I think he would have done it by now. Now can we please drop the subject? When it comes to hearing how 'dangerous' my 'fraternizing' with him is, I've heard it all, from every one of you. Before I liked James I never chastised or held it against you for being his friends. I never asked you to stop hanging out. Please show me the same courtesy."

She could tell by their expressions that they were not likely to change their opinion anytime soon, or ever for that matter. But they did drop it and changed the subject, indicating the obvious that the match start soon due to the large mob of students that had swarmed in and taken their seats while they had been arguing. Almost the whole school wass assembled, the teachers and headmaster seated comfortably in the top box, and Lily had lost sight of Severus in the sea of green now dominating the Slytherin stands. The Gryffindor and Slytherni teams had stopped practice and now stood in two lines, parallel to each other.

James stood in the middle of the rest of his team, leaning most of his weight casually on his broomstick, watching Lily with a concerned look. Feeling guilty, lily buried all her conflicted emotions way back in the corners of her heart and mind, giving him a convincing, encouraging smile, which he returned sweetly, before putting on his game face and glaring determinedly at the other teams' captain. At the far end of the pitch, the referee glided toward the two rival teams in the center.

When at last Madame Hooch had reached the middle of the field, she instructed the two captains to shake hands, though what ensued looked more like a competition to break each others' hand. The two teams mounted their brooms and kicked off powerfully, taking off into the air when the whistle blew, signalling the beginning of the game, and the four balls shot out of the crate as if possessed of their own life. The crowd erupted with cheers- the onle stand silent belonging to the Slytherins- as Gryffindor immediately took possession of the Quaffle, scoring a quick and easy ten points for the team, and also the first goal of the game.

Lily watched the players zoom about more than forty feet high with keen eyes. Even with sight as good as her own it was difficult to differentiate between the members of her team. James was easilly spotted, though- he was the shortest person on the team, even though he dwarfed her easilly by at least several inches- as he soared hawk-like along the perimeter of the pitch.

Sooner than later, the game became increasingly more violent and captivating. There had been four penalties already, three of which had been caused by the Slytherin team, and one by Gryffindor for revenge. Forty-five minutes into the game , James still circled the air, having not found the Snitch, or even a glimmer of gold- mostly due to the fact that despite his excellent, protective beaters, he was avoiding being hit by bludgers sent from the opposing team.

A hesitant tap to the back of her shoulder distracted Lily from the game. "What?" She asked vaguely, turning slightly.

"Sniv- erm… he wants to talk to you." Lauren said attempting to sound indifferent, mustering a semi-convincing smile, but Lily could see some lingering disapproval in it.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked tentatively. Lauren was a die-hard Quidditch fan and Lily had never seen her look anything short of thrilled when at a match. Following Lauren's gaze, Lily soon discovered the object of her friend's disdain. Severus stood three rows to the left and six up from them, hands shoved in his pockets, trying to look casual as he waited for her. "Ah, I see," Lily said, understanding. "Um, I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? Keep an eye on the game for me, alright?"

"Okay…" Lauren said with a small, mock-vindictive grin, before adding in a more grim tone, "A few minutes… or else."

Smirking, and glad that Lauren wouldn't harp on about Severus, Lily hoped lightly from bench to bench up six rows, then apologizing to the people she had to walk in front of to get to Severus.

"Hey, Sev!" Lily greeted him warmly, as a charming grin lit up his face, the joy he took from her presence as clear as any day. He removed his hands from his pockets so they could embrace each other, looking slightly duped when it ended.

Oh, God, her smell! He thought, dreamily, It's been so long, I had almost forgotten her perfume. Though they had made amends with each other long before, he avoided Lily whenever James was around- watching, let alone knowing, that Lily loved James more was too much for him to bear.

"You cut your hair!" Lily commented enthusiastically, beaming at him, as she playfully twisted a lock of his shoulder-length ebony hair around her index finger- he really did look good. At one point, Severus had kept his hair so long she had once been able to braid it. Perhaps he had finally gotten a girlfriend! She thought happily. "You look great, Sev."

Severus's pale complexion immensely reddened as he blushed, grinning with a combination of delight, his dark eyes alight with all the love he felt for her. "Not as good as you," He complimented back, his tone thick with admiration and sincerity. "You're a goddess, Aphrodite reincarnated."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes, modest as ever and doubtful of his comment. "Yeah, right," She replied, grinning, "So, handsome, why are you suddenly so suave? Got a girlfriend to impress?"

"Actually… no." Severus admitted, his face falling, as he blushed further still.

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed, sincerely shocked, her emerald eyes widening in surprise. She tenderly placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and opened her mouth to apologize- obviously, by his expression, she had hit a sore spot. But before she was able to, Severus recovered, grinning slightly, his skin returning to it's usual palor.

"Actually, Lily…" He said, hope evident in his tone. "I cut my hair for you. You seem to like guys with shorter hair better."

"Oh." Lily said listlessly, the luster in her dimming slightly. Her stomach felt as though a large block of ice had been dropped into it, her heart heavy. Oh, how he tugged at her heart! Why did she always have to be torn between the two men she cared about the most? Why couldn't he just find someone else?

"Look… Lily, I don't understand. What do you see in him? Don't you love me? Even just a little? Look at all we've done together! Surely, there must be something?"

"Severus, please, we've discussed this before. I thought you understood already. I'm with James, I do love him."

"Yes, but that is only because you haven't given me the chance to love you yet. Please, just one chance, that's all I'm asking for."

"Sev, I do love you, just not the way you want me to. Now, please, I thought we agreed to be friends."

"It's not enough." He replied earnestly. Drawing her to his chest, he tilted her face up to his, and kissed her forcefully. Panicking, she pushed him roughly, but he only held on tighter. She didn't like this side of him- it was scary. She took a step back and almost fell backward, but he pulled her away from the edge. She couldn't fight him off- he was too strong, and she didn't even have her wand. When it seemed that he wouldn't stop until he had his way, she stopped fighting back. She became limp and unresponsive, shutting herself off, as if frozen.

All she could do was wait, as the thrilled roars of excitement and delight crashed around her like ominous thunder. But how long would that take? The crowd raved on, and roared an applause as the Gryffindor Keeper made a magnificent save- no one would hear her over the noise if she screamed, no one was looking for her. They probably looked like a normal couple in all the heat of the moment, not that anyone would care or was watching. She thought, tears of frustration stinging her eyes. Yes, all she could do was wait- and nothing more.

James circled high above, searching for a bit of gold among the rich green grass, daring just one glance toward Lily and his friends' row at the Gryffindor stands. To his dismay, he couldn't see the red-head in question, but there was Sirius in his stupid lion mask, and on either sides of him, he could just barely make-out three blurs of red which must have been Remus, Lauren, and Dakota.

Upon his notice of Lily's absence from their friends, he began to get a little anxious. How very peculiar- it was so very unlike Lily to not attend a Quidditch match, especially when he knew how much it meant to him for her to be there. It wasn't like her at all- then again, maybe he had overlooked her in the sea of crimson and gold, though he highly doubted it. No- he decided after a few moments- he hadn't imagined it.

Completely abandoning the match, he broke his routine and veered off the path he had been taking for the past forty-five minutes, searching the crowded stadium for a sign of Lily's trademark flaming red hair. Only did he catch his breath when he spotted a girl with red hair amiably chatting with a tall, semi-athletic guy with straight, shoulder-length dark hair. And not just any red-head, but Lily, judging by the supportive team jacket and red baseball hat she wore. That was it- one of their friends had seen Lily and she decided to briefly chat with him to be polite- she wasn't purposely ignoring him. He let out a sigh of relief, instantly appeased, but his content would not last long before he realized exactly who Lily was talking to.

James sparked with annoyance and suspicion, his jealous nature getting the best of him as the mystery suitor shifted his position to step closer to Lily, revealing his identity to James. _Snivellus!_ He thought seethingly, gritting his teeth.

He tried to return his concentration to the game, get a grip on himself, but he was never good at controlling his temper. He almost regained control over himself when Snape suddenly drew Lily to himself, kissing her, in such a meaningful, passionate way that even Remus, one of the kindest and nonjudgmental people he knew, couldn't pass it off as just a friendly greeting. He watched angrily, shocked as Lily struggled fruitlessly with her friend before freezing up and letting him have his way with her.

_What are you doing?_ James screamed silently at her. _What are you doing? Fight, damn it, fight!_ But she didn't- she remained lip and vacant in his arms, not making any attempt to fend him off. As James observed, he felt something more than just anger and jealousy- sadness, betrayal, and despair. _How could she just let him violate her like that? God knows, that if he had ever tried anything like that in the past on her, or even now, she would give him hell- and yet there she was in the arms of a Slytherin, and she didn't even care._

Before he could calm down, or even think, anger and instinct won him over. Drawing his wand like a sword from his pocket, he aimed directly at Snape and fired a perfect, emotionally-amped curse that lifted him fifty feet in the air and rocketing around the Quidditch pitch, suspended upside down by the ankles, the force of his spell so powerful it knocked Severus out cold.

Still emanating fury, James was just able to glimpse Lily's stunned look before he felt the bludger hit him with full-force on the back of his head. Knocked clean off his broom, the cold air whipped viscously at every bare inch of his skin as he plummeted down at break-neck speed. The wind roared angrily in his ears as he fought to hold onto consciousness, Lily's screams of shock and horror piercing his ears louder than the rest of the crowds cries. James was a mere twenty feet above the ground before his gaze caught a glint of gold. Half-conscious, the last thing James Potter felt was the cool, grooved metal surface of the snitch he clutched tightly in his hand before he passed out and hit the ground…


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

**Come Together/ Come Apart**

"James, please wake up… please!" Lily cried, as she glanced up at the giant clock on the hospital wings' wall- three hours had passed now since the Quidditch game had ended, and James still did not seem to be faring any better than he had when Madame Pomfrey arrived at the pitch within minutes with an antidote. James- vacant, pale, and bearing an expression of agony on his sweat-slicked face- lay unconscious on his cot in a large circle comprising of his team, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Dakota and Lauren (Peter was not present in James's little recovery group, because he too was suffering similar, though less serious injuries; after James hit the ground and Peter had seen the voluminous and sickening amount of blood gushing from a gash in his friend's head, Peter too felt rather nauseated and fainted, somehow accomplishing- in such a way that only he could manage- to bang his head face-first into the row in front of him and then roll down two more).

"Relax, Lil'- James'll be alright- he always is. He's had much worse injuries than this. James has a thick head- I'd be more concerned about the bludger's welfare instead." Sirius said, in a tone that he obviously thought to be soothing, but only it only made her feel worse. She knew the real reason why James wasn't waking up- he didn't want to.

And it was all her fault- her fault for being selfish, stupid, and completely blind-sighted to what everyone else clearly saw in Severus. If she hadn't insisted on trusting him, she would never have been in this mess. She was so ashamed that she hadn't even worked up the courage to admit why James had been so furious and distracted that he would allow himself to get injured. Everything had happened so quickly at the match that no one else even noticed her struggle with Severus, or the brief duel that entailed between James, Severus, and the Slytherin beater afterward- only the three of them knew what happened.

"No- he hasn't had worse injuries, because it's never taken him so long to wake up before!" Lily protested, her voice raspy and quiet from all the crying she had done.

"Why, yes there has! Like his first Quidditch match in our first year- that was horrible. His limbs all mangled and bloody-like, he broke his wrist and his leg!" Sirius said animatedly, as though he looked back upon the memory in almost a comedic manner.

"Yeah… or when James was eight he found a fire crab living under his porch, and he thought it would be the coolest pet ever. So, instead of listening to me, he had to be a complete idiot and try to capture it by himself. Third-degree burns all over him from his chest up." Lauren said, shaking her head in dismay.

"Or the time when he tried to arm wrestle the giant squid. He had the tentacle-marks on his arms and waist for two weeks." Remus said, smirking just a little bit- in that scenario James hadn't really been seriously injured, but it was a very stupid and dangerous attempt, and he could have gotten hurt much worse.

"Yeah!" Sirius agreed, laughing at the memory. Sirius didn't mean to sound callous- he was actually quite a sympathetic person, and he had been at the time when it happened- but now the thought of James with large red and purple suction marks that made him resemble swiss cheese all over his arms was actually quite humorous. "And there was also that time by the Weeping Willow when we…"

Sirius's hand flew to his mouth, his eyes widening as shock and horror registered in his and Remus's expressions, and a sudden and uncomfortable wave of silence washed over the group assembled around the Gryffindor Captain's bed. "What? What were you doing there- you know it's forbidden!" Lauren gasped in shock.

"It- It was just a dare- really. A game- a bad and stupid one. We learned our lesson." Remus said quietly- he hated having to lie to everyone. Especially Lauren. She stared determinedly into his eyes, obviously not buying a word of what he was saying, and he shifted his shoulders guiltily.

Before the subject could be inquired any further a soft groan from James captured everyone's attention, and Madame Pomfrey appeared in the room from one of the back rooms as if on cue. "Alright, Potter- slowly now. Go on- sit up." Pomfrey intoned gently, gesturing to help him but he merely shrugged away, using the bed-rails for support as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Oh, James! You had me so worried!" Lily sobbed, slightly squeezing his hand and gazing pleadingly into his hazel-grey eyes. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"Fine- never felt better." James said, his voice devoid of all and any emotion, pointedly ignoring the hand enveloping his own and avoiding Lily's gaze. Surprisingly, despite the force of the blow from the bludger, James was able to remember all the events that had led up to him laying there in the hospital wing. He remembered it all- only now that the anger had subsided, he felt hurt, pained- both physically and emotionally.

"Blimey, Prongs! What the hell happened out there? You were totally off-key, mate. Usually you can avoid those suckers without even trying." Sirius bombarded as he flopped himself- with a rueful look from the nurse- onto the bed beside James.

James- against his will- glanced up at Lily, who was gently stroking his hair back, and glared at her with an expression of disbelief and anger. So she hadn't told them what had happened- that must mean she was hiding it because she felt guilty, and there would be no need for that unless if she had done something wrong. And she had- oh, yes she did- he even witnessed it.

Both James and Lily- especially her- were aware of the stares convening from the gathered team and friends. Lily's face flushed and she tried to swallow the lump that had lodged in her throat as James addressed the others in a carefully-coiffed tone and expression of calm. "Would the rest of you please excuse me and Lily for a few moments? I need to speak with her alone- in private."

Slowly- and very awkwardly- the team, Lauren, Dakota, Sirius, and Remus filtered out, perplexed by James's odd reactions. Pomfrey, however resumed her spot. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Potter- you're not fully recovered, and I am certainly not allowing you to leave custody until you have, at the very least, eaten a meal and had a few potions."

"_Please," _James insisted, no longer bothering to be polite with giving an option- demanding. "Madame, I will do as you say, but right now I require to speak alone with Lily."

Looking sour and frustrated, Madame Pomfrey receded from the room and into her office in silence. There a was a long, awkward moment before anything was said- it was Lily who spoke first. "James, I-I'm so. . ."

"No- No more, Lily." He said seriously, shaking his head in frustration, but stopping quickly because it made his head throb painfully. "No more excuses. I've had enough."

"But, James, please, just wait. I didn't mean for that- he just- he just. . ." Lily tried to project her feelings, her own viewpoint on the events but the words would not form sentences in her mouth.

"You didn't mean what? He what?" James all but screamed, so harshly that she recoiled away from him with a hurtful expression, his head throbbing. "What can you say that will justify what you did or didn't do?"

"I-I don't understand!" Lily cried, and the tears came fiercer than ever. She had never seen this side of James before- the angry, accusing eyes, the anguish in his expression, the sad frustration in his voice- at least not directed towards her.

"That's exactly what is wrong. I told you what he is and what he's capable of and you ignored me. But that's how it's always been with us. I might not have always been a moral compass, but I have never, nor would I ever become what he is. I've loved you all along- all I ever asked was for you to love me in return, and you've always shot me down, humiliated me, and fought endlessly. But when the Slythershit attacks- literally mouth-fucks you- you do what? You kissed him back! You let him have his way with you- a bloody Death Eater! You didn't even flinch. Now do you understand?!"

Lily couldn't speak, or even cry for that matter- she was parched, completely drained from crying so much. Even if she could speak, she wouldn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Lily- I tried. I've tried so hard. But I just can't do this anymore." James said quietly, his voice muffled by his hands as he covered his face.

"But I- But I love you." She rasped, making up for the distance between them in seconds as she scrambled over to him on her knees, seizing his hand, and, reluctantly- she was afraid he might explode again- kissed him.

At first, he did not resist, but then he withdrew again, his expression pained. "I love you, too, Lily. That's one thing I have never joked about is how I feel about you, but sometimes that's just not enough- it's not enough now." James's voice cracked, eyes widening almost pleadingly. "Please, go now- I need to be alone."

Defeated and heartbroken, Lily could say no more. With one last despaired look, she left the room, rushing past the assembled Gryffindors and away from the castle. She had no idea where she was going- she just ran.

She knew that this break-up would not be like the others- they wouldn't fight for a week and then spontaneously make-up again. This time it was for real, and it burned a hole in her heart unlike any other loss she had experienced- even when she lost Petunia because his love had always been given, wheras Petunia's had not.

So Lily did what she always did when she was upset or in mourning- she ran. Only there was no sense of relief or fulfillment when she finally reached the Shrieking Shack. She thought the setting was rather suitable in comparison to how she felt inside- the desire to scream and cry, although she unable to from the lack of ability to grasp a single thought in the whirlwind emotions ripping at her- even though she hadn't made a conscious decision to go there.

So, she collapsed on the creaky old porch of the Shrieking Shack. Breathing heavily, she ceased to try to make words of the strangled sounds coming from her throat, and cried silently.

~LATER THAT EVENING~

Lily had no idea what time it was, or how long she had been sitting on that porch, but she knew it must be late. The sun had gone down long ago, and it was quickly getting dark. The sky was a dark navy blue and the air was cold, the wind blowing cool and harsh against her already wind-burned, red cheeks. She could feel her teeth chattering and her fingers were stiff and sore from the cold, yet despite the discomfort she did not want to leave.

She couldn't bear to see James (if Pomfrey even allowed him out, that is) or have to see their friends. She didn't want to force a smile that was not genuine or natural-feeling just to keep up false pretenses, or come up with some lame story about why she had run off so suddenly and why it had taken her so long to return.

She coughed slightly, drying her itchy red eyes with the back of her hand when a sudden sound pulled her out of her own misery. A very particular sound at that- steam. Why would there be steam? It was freezing and there was no heating in the shack- nor did anyone live there. And as far as Lily knew she was the only one there. She looked up in alarm, her ears straining for another sound, eyes keen as she tried to trace the location the sound had come from.

She heard it again- this time to her right and much closer now. Instinctively, shed tensed, plunging her hand into her jeans pocket for her wand, before remembering that she had never retrieved it from her room after leaving the hospital wing. Her eyes widened- first in horror, when she heard someone speak

"I thought I'd find you here- I've been a mess, looking all over for you. Although, now that I think of it, where a better place to shriek in rage and be miserable without drawing attention to yourself than the Shrieking Shack?" Severus's low voice intoned tentatively, making a small stab at being humorous.

He hopped over the side of the banister and settled down on the top step beside Lily. He removed a bundle of warm, thick blankets from under his cloak where he had stashed them under his arm to keep them warm and arranged them thoughtfully around Lily's shoulders.

Lily shivered under the slight weight of her blankets, her cheeks burning from which she couldn't determine was either anger or the sudden warmth of the thick fabric. "Ugh! You sick bastard!" Lily snapped, shoving him away furiously, and glaring daggers. "Are you truly so vain that you think the reason why I'm so upset is because of what you did to me?"

Severus's eyebrow shot up in interest and amusement. "Really? So you enjoyed it then?"

"James could've been killed out there, today- he saw what you did, and he saw me do nothing. Everything is ruined- he hates. Not to mention that you completely violated my trust and our friendship."

"Lily, I'm sorry, I really am. But I had no control over what happened to Potter- I didn't tell Lucius to attack him." Severus said reasonably. "I can't be held accountable for what he does."

"Yes, you can- I warned you before you got involved with their gang, and this whole situation wouldn't have even occurred if you hadn't tried to take advantage of me." Lily argued.

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry- I honestly didn't mean for that to happen. But don't you get it? The only reason I became a Death Eater is for you- so I could protect you. I would never hurt you, Lily, you know that- I love you." He said quietly, seizing her hands and holding them gently in his own.

Lily snatched them quickly out of his grasp and stepped back from him. She raised her eyes to Severus's, their expression appearing oddly hard and vulnerable at the same time. "And I love you, Sev, but I love James more, and I just can't do this anymore- I can't be you're friend."

"So, what? I get the short end of the stick? I get kicked to the curb because of him? Lily, I've known and loved you longer than you two have been together. I need you, Lillian. It's not fair."

"Stop it!" Lily cried, clenching her fists in restraint. "God, you're so selfish, can't you think of anyone other than yourself? I've always been clear about my feelings and you've always exploited them- always taken more than I had to give, but I've had enough now."

Severus's eyes grew suddenly distant and vey, losing all their previous warmth and tenderness. He grit his teeth in anger and pain as a cold, hard fist clenched around his heart and his scorched into Lily's.

"You want to talk about selfish, Lily? I'll tell you what selfish is." Severus said in low, deep growl. "You're not the only one who's been clear about their feelings- I have, too. Despite all my attempts win your love you have always over-looked me and my close relationship with you. When I've finally been able to express myself you have shot me down more than once and in the very worst way- by dating my one true enemy; and yet you've always expected for us to remain close friends, knowing very well how much it kills me that you'll never love me the way I love you and the fact that no matter how much pain you inflict on me, I could not deny you because I love you too much. I've had to watch other men have the honor of your love that should rightfully be mine all these years while you enjoyed dating and having me as your best friend. Now, tell me, who is the truly selfish one?"

"You're right, Severus." Lily said sadly, looking down." I have been selfish, and I'm so sorry I hurt you- it was never my intention. But I won't hurt you anymore- that much I can promise."

"Lies, lies. My heart is being ripped apart and yet you still try to make promises of which cannot uphold." Severus said coolly, his expression a contorted mask of anger and anguish.

"What can I do? What can I do to make this situation- to make you feel better?" Lily asked, against her will, feeling tears forming in the creases of her eyes again.

"You know what I want! You know the only thing that reconcile our relationship." Severus said harshly, and the hard gleam of his eyes and rough toned could'nt have made it any clearer.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I can't do this anymore though, goodbye." Lily shrugged off the blankets and turned away from him, taking the first few steps of what would be a long, lonely walk back to Hogwarts, when Severus shouted something that made her stop dead in her tracks- something she would remember for the rest of her life and look back on in pain and sadness.

"Fine, then. Let's just hope that you don't live to regret that, you filthy mud-blood!"

Lily hung her head in shame and misery the whole long walk through Hogsmeade to the castle, no longer trying to stem the steady flow of tears or to stifle the shuddered sobs that rose from her throat.

The common room was completely empty when she finally returned and the comfortable furniture and warm, illuminating fire presented themselves to her mockingly. Exhausted, Lily climbed the stair to the dorm and entered silently, casting her eyes warily around the room before walking to her bed. Lauren and Dakota were both sprawled awkwardly on Lauren's bed- they had probably shared the bed in an attempt to stay awake for when Lily returned. Feeling guilty for worrying them, she climbed into bed without even changing, thinking miserably to herself, _So this is what death must feel like- a long, slow, painful death… _


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: You Found Me

It was now March- nearly four months since Lily and James had split up. In a way, nothing and everything had changed- she remained at the top ten percent of her class, upheld her duties as Head Girl, and remained close to her friends, though only the surface- only Lauren knew what was really going on with Lily- her only solace.

Lily no longer exuberated her cheery, feisty zeal- she was now silent unless spoken to and had become so enthralled in her studies that it was almost to the point of obsession. It was like Lily-light, as Lauren liked to put it- all the personality without all those messy emotions.

Lily sat in the front row of Transfiguration class, watching Professor McGonagall with a blank, unreadable expression as they neared the end of the period. Lily could feel James's hard, steel-colored gaze- full of anger and regret- burning a hole into the back of her fiery-red haired head. Gripping the edge of the desk so tightly that her knuckles turned white, she concentrated all of her focus on a piece of chalk on the tray hanging from the blackboard- only thirty more seconds to go…

She counted down the seconds silently in her head, yearning the salvation of leaving James's uncomfortable presence with every one that passed. Twenty-eight…twenty-seven… twenty-six… Lily felt Lauren grasp her hand reassuringly beneath the table and Lily gave her a small, grateful smile.

At least that's one thing that hasn't changed- though Lily still talked with her other friends it wasn't the same- they were always around James and Lily couldn't bear to be around him anymore than he could stand being near her. Lauren was always there when she needed her, and they were times like these that convinced Lily that they would always be that way.

"…Class is dismissed."

At Professor McGonagall's dismissal, the whole class- which had already packed away their books and belongings- swarmed out of the class, eager to get their next class over and done with for lunch. Lily, however, remained standing in front of her desk, after convincing and uncertain Lauren to continue on without her, in no rush to get to the double-period of Potions, packing her belongings half-heartedly. James, unlike the others, took his time to gather his stuff, walking slowly and deliberately towards the door, making sure to glare at Lily as he passed her.

Lily cast her eyes downward and averted his accusing gaze as she felt him brush swiftly up against her side as he walked by. Though it wasn't long ago that James's closeness would make her blush with happiness and cause her head to spin with dizzying thoughts of love and romance, it seemed like decades. Now it made her cold and numb, her heart pound with sadness and anger. She tried to stare back just as fiercely, but it didn't come out right- her emerald eyes glazed over with unshed tears and her lower lip trembled- not that it mattered. He had already marched out of the classroom.

"Lily…" Professor McGonagall intoned softly in a surprisingly motherly tone. It was the first time she had referred to Lily by her first name. The fact that McGonagall felt obligated to be comforting was all the more embarrassing- did she truly look that pitiful?

"Yes, Professor?" Lily whispered, despising the slight tremor in her voice.

"You have not been acting like yourself, lately. It is like you're a different person- and not for the better. Please, my dear, tell me what is troubling you."

"Why, nothing!" Lily said, slightly defensively, not even sounding convincing to herself. She tried to come up with more elaborate, convincing story. "I'm fine, I'm just concentrating a lot on my studies, and I'm having a little trouble with keeping up with my duties as Head Girl. I'm just so tired, lately, that is all. I'm- I'm okay…really."

"Are you sure? You know that you can tell me anything- I will not judge you and it will be completely confidential. I have only your best interests at heart." Professor McGonagall said, her tone wistful and concerned, obviously not convinced with Lily's lame excuse.

"Yes, I know. Thank you, Professor- it means a lot to me to know that you care so much. But, I'm fine- I think I just need some sleep."

"Well, then, do make sure to get to bed early tonight and get some extra sleep, Miss Evans. It worries me to see you looking so miserable all the time." McGonagall said, her tone and expression still somewhat skeptical.

"I will. Thank you, Professor." Lily said, grinning wearily at McGonagall, to make an emphasis on her point, which in fact, wasn't a complete lie, but was not the main reason for her internal suffering. "Good evening."

After a curt nod from McGonagall, Lily hastily left, hurrying out of the door with her head down, hiding the two teardrops that had slyly seeped through the corners of her eyes as she blinked them away. She didn't waste any more time, afraid that she would be late for class, as she ran down four flights of stairs, including the one in the entrance hall, and then down two more in the dungeons as she headed for potions. When she arrived at Slughorn's class she was right on time but everyone had already taken their seats.

Her gaze searched the room for Lauren and Remus- it didn't take long to spot them- they were sharing a table with Sirius and Dakota, and that would mean that James… Her eyes performed another quick sweep of the room and uttered a small gasp. All the other students had taken up all the tables except one- James sat broodingly by himself at the one empty table, glaring angrily at its polished wooden surface.

"Lily, please kindly take your seat." Professor Slughorn said politely after a few very awkward, silent moments of her hovering in the doorway. She glanced pleadingly at Sirius and Remus, who all grinned encouragingly, Sirius giving her the thumbs up.

Literally shaking with anxiety and frustration, Lily shuffled over to the table, sitting opposite James and setting her cauldron directly in front of her face so all that he could see of her was her eyes. She had hoped the cauldron would obstruct her view of him as well, but it was useless- even sitting down he was half a foot taller than her.

"Evans," He said coolly, inclining his head so slightly it barely passed as a nod, without looking up.

"James."Lily said meekly, her mouth suddenly dry.

After that, they worked on their potions individually, in silence among the cheerful chatter going on around them- not that either of them took notice; they were too absorbed with pretending that each other were not there.

Despite Lily's attempts to take as long as possible to complete her potion, she finished early, with half an hour to spare before their lunch break. She tried to keep herself preoccupied, to keep her gaze from wandering to the handsome face of the person across from her, but her focus was repeatedly drawn to James- she could feel her carefully-composed expression deteriorating into one of misery. _Look at me, _She silently willed him.

More than once, James had caught her staring and was caught momentarily off-guard before gathering himself and giving her a hard look. Lily couldn't be more relieved when the class ended for their lunch period. As the class rushed out of the class for the great hall, Lauren walked over to Lily's desk.

"Sorry about that." Lauren apologized sincerely. "It wasn't my idea- Sirius and Remus thought that it would help if you _had_ to work out your problems. How'd it go?"

"Well… I'm okay, I guess." Lily lied, smiling in what she hoped to be a hopeful manner. _Just because I'm unhappy doesn't mean that Lauren has to suffer too,_ Lily thought, internally, _especially when she's trying so hard to make me feel better._

"Well, hurry up and put your stuff away before all the good food is taken." Lauren said, her stomach growling audibly as she spoke.

"Um, actually, I was just thinking of taking a walk, instead." Lily said passively, as she stowed her books and cauldron away in the classes assigned cupboard.

"Oh, okay, well just wait for me- I'll grab a sandwich or something." Lauren offered thoughtfully, but she wrinkled her nose in distaste. Today's lunch was one of her favorites, but she didn't like the idea of Lily walking alone outside in the cold.

"No, that's okay. Really- go get your man and your food. I'll be fine- it's just a walk. I'll be back for DADA, okay?"

"If you insist." Lauren said with a shrug of her shoulders. She made a dash for the Great Hall, calling behind. "See you later. I'll save you some dessert and a spot at our desk."

Putting away her last notebook, Lily zipped up her bag and bid Professor Slughorn fairwell as she left the room. She was half-way down the hall when she was suddenly pulled into Slughorn's private ingredients closet.

"What-" Lily gasped iin shock, flailing her limbs in the sudden darkness as the door was closed.

"Shh!!" Came James's voice in a hushed whisper, as he covered her mouth.

"James?" Lily whispered, her voice slightly muffled due to the fact that he was still covering her mouth. She felt a large lump lodge in her throa, and she felt her cheeks burn, afraid that he would feel their sudden warmth. "Wh- What are you doing?"

The closet was small and cramped- obviously not made for more than one person to occupy it at once- she could feel his hips pressed against her waist and his warm, fresh breath on her face, and Lily's breath caught in her throat. Being this close to him was dizzying.

James removed his hand from her mouth, leaning his arm against the cool metal shelf holding jars of ingredients beside Lily, his hand accidentally brushing her waist, and he lit his wand with his other hand, nearly blinding her with its brightness.

Lily unconsciously moved closer to James, so their chests were nearly touching. James suppressed a gasp as his stomach contracted in response to the physical contact, his stomachs muscles tightening and loosening painfully. Lily desperately wanted to move back away from and flee from the tiny storage room, as her limbs suddenly took on the substance of jelly and she fought the overwhelming urge to embrace him, but she refused to cower away from him and look like a fool.

"I um- I just…" James stuttered incoherently, his expression contorted with confusion and frustration. Lily watched him stumble over his words with an odd mixture of hope and anxiety, her emerald eyes glistening in the wand-light. He stared back into her eyes intently, his expression pained and conflicted. Finally, with a groan of frustration, he flung the door open and pushed past Lily, uttering in a low growl, "Nothing has changed."

Lily felt the unwanted tears stinging her eyes as strangled cry escaped from her throat. Stumbling out of the closet, she fiercely wiped away the tears and slowly made her way up the dungeons and out of the castle. She forced back the tears angrily in an attempt to cover up the obvious sadness bubbling to the surface.

She shivered in the cold breeze that hit her as exited the castle, her tears drying instantly from the dry air and began making her way determinedly toward the lake. The snow crunched beneath her boots as she walked, leaving tracks in the already disturbed blanket of white…

~James's POV~

"Come on in, James." Dumbledore's gentle, benevolent voice commanded from the opposite side of the closed heavy oak double-doors. James- looking rather confused and still flustered from his last encounter with Lily- entered the office and reluctantly sat down. He did not wish to be rude, but his entire body was shaking and coursing with a heavy dosage of testosterone and adrenaline, and he could just not find it in him to return the Headmaster's warming smile. "Indeed, I was right. You do seem to be a man with the world on his shoulders."

James looked away in humiliation- was he seriously that easy to read? God- he had been such a wreck lately- he was either extremely pessimistic and pissed off at everything, or a lazy, moping mess. He just didn't know what to do anymore, or what was wrong with him, for that matter. And then, Lily… no. He shook that thought out of his head.

"You asked to see my, Professor?" James said in a clipped tone, not even bothering to beat around the bush.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said wistfully, gazing intently into James's eyes, lowering and steepling his hands. "You see, I am very worried about you and Ms. Evans's lack of cooperation together as Head Boy and Girl, and further more on a more personal level."

James looked affronted by Dumbledore's careful choice of words, narrowing his eyes skeptically. He couldn't remember the last time Dumbledore had called him anything other than James- for Dumbledore to refer to him by his last name was very strange- not to mention that it made their meeting very serious.

Dumbledore usually encouraged students to have a casual, comfortable relationship with their teachers- he believed it helped to create a more personal, enjoyable, and inevitably, better educational experience. To be called by his surname made the connection between them seem less personal and more business-like- completely not Dumbledore's style at all.

"Professor, is something wrong?" James asked, alarmed. Again- as so often it occurred- James was surprised by Dumbledore's reaction yet again.

"Yes, James, there is." Dumbledore said with an amused expression. "You see, I never would have put you for a masochist."

"I'm sorry," James said tensely, in a tone which suggested otherwise. "But I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I think you do." Dumbledore said, suddenly sharp. "I've been observing you and your Ms. Evans from afar and I must say I am quite ashamed of the way you two have been handling the delicate state of your relationship."

"State? There is no state- there is no relationship. And she isn't mine, either… not anymore." James said defensively.

"Really? Then why are you so upset by my remark?" Dumbledore said slyly. "Who are you trying to fool? You love her, do you not?"

"I _did_." James said softly, his guarded attitude wavering slightly.

"You _do_, young man." Dumbledore corrected sternly. "You do not just simply stop loving someone because of some foolish misunderstanding. If you do not still love her than how would you explain the anger you feel now or the blush in your cheeks? You love her, James."

"Okay- whatever. I love her, alright?" James said heatedly, glaring at Dumbledore in annoyance before his expression softened into one of vulnerability. "But what difference does it make? It's too late- it's been over for a long time. She doesn't love me anymore, and I wouldn't be surprised if she hates me." He was surprised to feel the tears of sorrow and anger that glazed his eyes, and he forced them back.

"Ah, quite contrary, James." Dumbledore said gently, smiling almost contentedly. "It makes all the difference, it is never too late for amor, nor is it so easily and quickly diminished, as you know yourself. Lily still loves you- she is heart-broken and cautious about the way she displays herself around, but she still loves you nonetheless, and undoubtedly she suffers from it."

James remained silent, staring blankly at the numerous instrument behind Dumbledore's desk, unable to respond or come up with anything to say. He didn't even know what to think. The answer was obvious, though, and it had always been there in his heart, he supposed. Nor could he ignore the warmth blooming in his chest, the pounding of his heartbeat, and the tingling sensation spreading rapidly throughout his limbs. Finally he looked up to Dumbledore's pensive expression, and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it after he couldn't speak.

"You may leave now, James." Dumbledore said.

~Later That Afternoon~

James entered his Defense Against The Dark Arts class wearing his heart on his sleep and radiating with the hope of making amends with Lily. He planned on reserving a desk just for the two of them at the back of the class where they could talk undisturbed and he could apologize for being such an ass to her.

However, the class had already forgone half its period and James's hopes were waning. Actually, he had already skirted past that- now he was actually worried- it was unlike Lily to skip classes, even when she was sick. He felt even worse than he already had about the way he had acted earlier on that day.

He noticed Lauren glancing anxiously towards the classes entrance out of the corner of her eye as well- Lily must've told her she'd be late, otherwise Lauren still wouldn't be looking for her. He ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook and quickly wrote one sentence in his all-caps handwriting- _Where is Lily?_- crunched it up into a ball and threw it to Lauren. It hit the side of her head before falling to the floor beside her and she turned to glare at James, who gestured wildly for her to read it.

He heard the paper crackle as she unwrapped and read the message, then a faint scratching from her quill as she wrote out her response. She threw back the message-which he caught- a moment later and he unraveled it to reveal her response and shifty sad-face beside it: _I don't know- I tried to convince her otherwise, but she went for a walk instead of lunch. I'm getting worried though- she said she'd be back in time for DADA, but she's still not here._

James scratched out another reply before tossing it to Lauren again: _Where was she going?_

Lauren replied seconds later: _She didn't mention- probably the lake, though. That's where she usually goes, it's her favorite part of Hogwarts. Why?_

He didn't pause to write back, jumping to his feet immediately. He crammed his book into his bag and slung it onto his back, grabbing his wand from off the desk and tearing out of the class, calling a hurried, "Excuse me," over his shoulder, running down two flights of the Great Staircase, through the Entrance Hall and out into the cold…

~Lily's POV~

Lily sat cross-legged on a bit of the lakes' shore which had been untouched by snow, hovering her hands over a jar of conjured blue flames she held in her lap to keep warm. She didn't wipe away the tears- they were quickly evaporated by the dry air before being replaced by a new pair.

In a way it was almost relieving- lately she spent so much time and energy on trying to pretend that she was fine and happy that she never had the chance to release all of her negative emotions and truly remorse properly. However, she did it with dignity- without crying out loud- staring at the lake and the trees that surrounded its edge on the far side of its shore.

She endured this way for nearly an hour and a half before she regained her composure and stood up to leave, realizing she was half an hour late for class. Lauren was going to be a nervous wreck. She turned around to start her long trek back to the castle and walked straight into the tip of someone's wand.

Lily gasped and doubled over, clutching her side in pain as the wand jabbed roughly into her ribcage. From her view level she could see it was not just one person, but three guys by the looks of it. She took a step backward, clutching her side and trying to catch her breath. She glanced up, ruefully at first, then in shocked horror when she saw who the suiters were. "No!" She gasped.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here Avery, Mulciber?" Lucius's long, cool drawling voice demanded of his two partners.

"It's that pretty little Mudblood Sev is so whipped over." Mulciber said, his voice adapting an almost predatory tone, he took a step forward but was stopped by Malfoy, who held out his arm.

"Merlin's balls! Is she crying?!" Avery spat spitefully, laughing humorlessly. "I had no idea Mudbloods had feelings! Well, now, won't this be interesting."

"Your little love-slave isn't here to protect you anymore." Lucius snarled, his curling into a thin, cruel grin.

"Let's see what our little Mudblood really looks like." Mulciber sneered, raising his wand and aiming at the horror-stricken Lily. "Expelliarmus!"

"PROTEGO!" Lily screamed, as she whipped out her wand, only a minute too late as it flew from her grasp and into Mulciber's waiting hand. "No, no please no." They laughed maliciously among each other, amused by Lily's terror and Lucius raised his wand. With a flourish, and without so much as an incantation, Lily was levitated six feet high upside-down from her ankle, her vision obscured by her vivid red hair and cloak. She could feel her clothes being peeled off piece by piece as Mulciber and Avery began to strip her with their wands. She screamed as her scarf was removed, then her cloak, and sweatshirt... Lily let out another blood-curdling scream as the freezing air hit her exposed skin and they started working on the buttons to her shirt, laughing cruelly all the time…

~James's POV~

"Lily! LILY, WHERE ARE YOU?!" James called as he made his way toward the lake. He was a little less than half-way to the lake now, and could make out a group of three guys by the edge of the lake, obviously skipping. But no Lily, not yet. He continued on in his steady, neutral pace until a familiar scream made his heart skip a beat.

"LILY!" He cried out loud. He threw down his bag and sped off toward the lake, wand drawn and ready, the blood and adrenaline throbbing in every vein vessel in his body.

He was now only a few yards away from the scene, close enough to aim with his wand, and he could see Lily clearly, her face covered by her long thick red hair as she struggled against the magical forces which bound and suspended her high up above. He could see Lucius spinning her rapidly above the lake surface and she screamed chillingly, her shirt threatening to slip off her shoulders. It was only then that he noticed Lily's clothes lying in a heap in front of Lucius, Mulciber, and Avery, as he recognized them to be. "You bastards!" he growled, raising his wand to attack, and Mulciber and Avery turned around to face him, however before James was even able to utter a spell Avery and Mulciber's eyes rounded and glazed over, their limbs snapping straight together and they collapsed face-first into the snow. James looked up to see Severus rushing over to the lake.

"LIBERACORPUS!" Severus force was too strong behind the spell in his heightened state of panic and anger, causing Lily to plummet to the lakes surface. The impact of her fall was so strong that the partially frozen lake-surface broke beneath Lily, and she fell in, the large chunks of ice closing together and appearing to completely swallow her up.

Quick as lightning James half-ran, half-slid across the lake, reaching its center in a little less than five minutes…

~Lily's POV~

Lily screamed as she was plunged head-first into the below-freezing water. She felt the coldness all over her body, so cold and painful that it was like being burned alive. She clawed furiously at the murky water, desperate for air, desperate to get out of the water. She couldn't breath- she couldn't even swim.

Swimming was one of the only things Petunia could ever do better than Lily, and now as she sunk slowly down memories of swimming lessons gone awry filled her mind. But the memories quickly dissolved and were replaced by James's face. James- he would never know how much she loved him. He would never know how she had died for him.

She felt something tugging at her ankle- the squid perhaps? Hell- maybe he wouldn't even know she had died. Maybe no one would know. If the Squid were to devour her there wouldn't be much left to find, now would there?

Her head was pounding- she couldn't last any longer. She let her last breath of air out as a searing, bright light illuminated above her. Was it the light? The one to float her up to heaven? Then at last there would be some relief. The pounding her head and convulsing of her body subsided, her vision fading to black, and her eyes finally closed as she lost consciousness…

~James's POV~

James waved his wand around under the water, searching for Lily. Finally the dim light from his wand reflected off her red hair- she wasn't too deep, only about three feet down, but it looked as though she were unconscious and seemed that the Squid were planning on making a nice little snack of her.

"Relashio!" He screamed internally, and his wand emitted a bright red flash of light, striking the Squid's tentacle and leaving a scarlet pustule there. The Squid released its hold on Lily at once and she floated up to him and he pulled her tightly to himself, catching glimpse of her pale, unresponsive face. Gripping her tightly to his chest with one arm, he raised his wand with the other, and chanted silently, "Ascendio!" Instantaneously they rocketed out of the lake and landed on the shore, where Severus awaited anxiously, the stupefied bodies of Lucius, Mulciber, and Avery at his feet.

"Quick, get her cloak!"James croaked, shivering almost spastically as he undid the remaining buttons of Lily's shirt and removing it. Then removing her shoes and tights.

"What the hell do you think your doing to her?" Severus cried in disgust bringing the cloak hurriedly as James began removing his own clothing, cursing from the cold. "Are you sick?"

Severus lay the cloak out on the ground and James repositioned her onto it and wrapping her up. He pinched her nose gently and opened her mouth, breathing into it, then pumping her chest four times. Nothing.

"Saving her life you m-moron. It's c-called CPR. If she's in w-wet clothes out i-in this weather she'll develop pn-pneumonia, and you c-can't let a-all of her b-blood r-rush to her heart or it w-will s-stop, g-genius." James said in quick, frenzied gasps between attempts at resuscitating Lily.

Finally after the fifth try, a small fountain of water spurted from Lily's mouth and she awoke with a gasp, her eyes fluttering open.

"James…" Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and she clutched him to her with her arms.

"Q-Quick, Snape- get th-the n-nurse." Severus didn't have to be told twice as he fled toward the castle at top speed. James sat, shivering on the shore and pulled Lily into his lap, wrapping the cloak around the two of them. He could feel Lily's shuddering, uneven breaths against his own, and he stroked her frozen hair. "I-It's okay, n-now. I've got you- you're safe.

And she was- she was very safe- even soaking wet in the freezing cold- as she allowed herself to relax and fall asleep in his arms. Had it not been for the serious urgence of the situation it might have been romantic, or maybe she would have been embarrassed by her lack of modesty. Whichever, she didn't allow herself to think about it- only to enjoy the feel of him holding her again until she dosed off into a light sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

"_I thought you said she'd be awake by now. Why is it taking so long? By God, I swear if anything has happened to her I'll kill the Slytherin scum that did this."_

"_Yeah, and I'll bring them back to clean up the mess!"_

"_Sirius quiet down. This is serious, Lily's hurt."_

"_You will do well to keep your tone down Mr. Potter, I won't tolerate any questioning of my abilities in this wing. Ms. Evans is in good care- she is doing fine. She just needs her rest."_

"_I don't know, Madame Pomfrey. It has been two days- I'm really worried about her."_

Lily moaned feebly, stirring slowly into consciousness as the conversation around her rose. The voices filtered to her senses vaguely as she tried to make sense of the sounds and locate their sources. Disoriented, she slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the brightness of the room. "Wh-What?"

"She lives!" Sirius cried in delight, nearly crushing her in a massive one-armed hug. "Merlin's balls, you had us scared. You should've seen that lot that messed with you- James and your little Slythie friend really bloodied 'em up good. How are you feeling?"

"Cool it, Siri, she just woke up. Give her some time to get her bearings why don't you?" Lauren and Dakota said disapprovingly, as they seized him by the back of his shirt, holding him back as he jumped off his perch on the bed opposite, lunging forward.

No sooner had the words left her lips than her bedside was swarmed by a mob and she gasped in shock, unable to make out who they were, her eyes still not adjusted to the light. She sighed a deep sigh of relief as a pair of warm strong hands enveloped her own- she'd recognize them from anywhere. "James…" She murmured hoarsely, her throat was so sore.

"It's alright, I'm here. I'm so sorry, I swear, I will never, ever leave you like that again." James said in a soft urgent whisper, his eyes like ghosts in his sockets, underneath which sat lilac bags. He hadn't left her side since he had found and hadn't slept an inch.

Lily calmed at the sound of his soft deep voice, and she felt a familiar hand grasp her own gently- she would have recognized it anywhere- firm but gentle at the same time. She felt all fear and worry slowly ebb out of her at its touch and, as her eyes adjusted to the light the faces began to swim into focus and she could make out Sirius, Dakota, Lauren, Remus, Peter, and James.

They all bore similar expressions of concern and worry, except for Sirius who sported an enthusiastic look of relief- he looked as though he would pounce her in joy if the others were not holding him back. James looked as though he had not slept in years- his worried grey eyes like ghosts in their sockets, robes crumpled and wrinkled, face pale, and glasses askew. Even still, he looked handsome- it was if Lily had just seen the sun for the first time.

"What happened?" she asked, slowly sitting up, her head aching a little. She began stretching out her limbs, accounting her injuries. She was a little sore, but that was all- no serious injury. Her hand tingled where James held it, her stomach fluttering with what she was sure had nothing to do with her injuries. Her heart felt as though it would explode it was full of so much love for the people surrounding, but mostly it ached for the man who grasped her hand in his own. The throbbing of her heart was the only thing that convinced her that was real and not some strange dream.

"I found you by the lake- a bunch of Slytherins had you suspended over the lake- and they were… doing stuff, hurting you. Anyways, I came in for the attack and Lucius- he was the one who had you in the air- I knocked him unconscious and the enchantment broke. You hit your head hard on the ice and fell through- that was when Snape arrived. I went in and got you out and he started fighting off the others. Do you remember anything about it?" James said in a tight, rough voice, the last words coming out in a strangled whisper, his eyes glistened with horror, sadness, and…hope?

Lily glanced quickly around the hospital and surely enough, across the room Lucius lay unconscious on a bed. She cringed slightly as the memories of what had occurred flooded her mind- the lake… the Slytherins…the jeering…her clothes slowly being peeled off as she was suspended in the air…and the ice, oh the ice had hit her body like a thousand knives. Quickly she pulled out of her reverie, and took in the faces around her.

"No. No I don't." Lily replied, still shaken as she took in James's guilt-ridden face. She remembered all right- all too well. But they wouldn't know- they never would. James didn't need to live with the burden of the guilt she knew he would place on himself if he knew she remembered.

"How do you feel?" Lauren asked, in her motherly way, as she sat down easily on the edge of Lily's bed and wrapping her arms around her. Lily leaned into her friends arms as she had done so many times before, soothed by her Lauren's familiar embrace- after all the experiences that they had shared with each other she felt more like a sister, even more so- though she hated to admit it, for she felt callous and cruel as she did so- than she felt about Petunia.

"Not bad- just like I have a real bad hangover- my head is killing me." Just as she said this Madame Pomfrey came over with a large lump of chocolate and a flask of potion, that held a potion she recognized to have healing properties and downed it quick. It was then that she realized how truly hungry she was as her stomach growled audibly and she quickly ate it, ravenous. She was still hungry when she finished.

"I'll be back with some food in a moment." Pomfrey said curtly, nodding as she left. A few minutes passed in which Lily was hugged and kissed by all their friends and met with praise and relief that she seemed to be alright.

Suddenly the door flew open again, but it was not Madame Pomfrey who entered. Instead Severus Snape stood in the doorway, holding a tray laden with food and more chocolate. He looked very uncomfortable and nervous surrounded by so many of the people who had sworn to be his enemies for the longest time. Lily's gathered friend grew silent as he entered, acquiring looks of obvious annoyance and disgust, James tensing, his grip on her tightening ever so slightly. Lily recognized Severus's telltale signs of worry as his eyebrows knit together, furrowed.

Severus cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing, looking pointedly at Lily, and avoiding the obvious contemptuous looks the Gryffindors kept darting at him. "Madame Pomfrey said that you were awake and up for company."

There were mutters of disapproval among Lily's friends and Sirius snorted derisively. James, however, to Lily's great surprise, although remaining tense, said nothing.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with Lily." Severus said; no one reacted or moved. "Alone"

Sirius was the first to jump up, cussing his disapproval, and though not quite as verbal as Sirius, the others joined in, outraged at his suggestion.

"Guys, no- please don't start." Lily protested, and everyone, even Sirius, despite the fact that he was clearly disappointed in his spoiled opportunity to have a go at Snape, stopped. She looked from Severus to James sadly, wishing there was something she could do to make them both happy. She looked into Severus's pale, handsome, pleading face and spoke quietly, sadly, "Severus, I don't think-"

"No- It's okay." James said, his voice strained, looking deeply into Lily's eyes and she could see how much it pained him to do this. He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips before getting off the bed and walking to the door, gesturing for the others to follow him. They all stayed in place, rooted where they stood by shock.

"Lets go-now." James said gruffly, and slowly the others followed, still shocked. "Lily wants to talk to him, she'll talk to him."

He paused when he reached the doorway, and said to Severus, in a tone curt enough to surprise Lily yet again, said, "You have five minutes."

"Thank you," Severus replied, monotonously, his expression woebegone. "That's all I need."

Severus waited for the door to close behind him after the others left before he strode over to Lily's bed, placing the food gently on her lap, before embracing her tightly, his expression pained and forlorn. "Lily I'm so sorry for what happened. If I knew…"

"Sev, you didn't. And you saved my life- I can't explain how grateful I am- how much it means to me. Even when I don't ask, you're always there for me. I don't know what I would do without you. You are truly one of my best and dearest friends." Lily said softly, hugging him back and smoothing his dark hair back lovingly.

Severus winced at her last words as he disentangled himself from her arms, as though he was afraid to touch her, his face pained and forlorn. After a minute he contained himself, releasing himself and gently gripping the bedsheets, arranging his expression into a carefully calm mask.

She almost whimpered as she saw the look of pain that flashed across his face when she called him her "friend". She was hurting him- again. Severus had saved her life- fought against his own friends and housemates to save her, and she was hurting him.

"Sev, I-" She started to say but he interrupted her before she could finish.

"No, it's okay." He said gruffly, struggling to keep his composure, and she wondered if it was more for his benefit, or if he was trying to keep her from feeling worse.

He brought his gaze to meet her own, betraying his disposition with all the sadness and longing they possessed and she felt her heart break. So he was trying to keep her happy- he was always protecting her, even when he was in so much pain. She longed to take him in her arms and soothe him as he had always done for her- but she couldn't. Not now.

He cleared his throat once more before continuing. "It's actually why I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something I should have done a long time ago- we should have done."

"What?" Lily said nervously, perplexed.

"I can't go on like this. Lily, I love you. I love with all my being, my whole heart- I love you more than life itself. For so long I hoped that maybe you would grow to love me too, but it was futile. But I can't be with you anymore- it's killing me. Every time I hear your voice, your laugh, when I see your face, knowing that you'll never be mine is killing me." Severus said, his deep voice brittle.

"Sev," Lily croaked, tearful, heart pounding madly in her chest and her stomach aflutter with anxiety and fear. "Sev, what are you saying?"

"Lily," Sev said, her name becoming a caress on his tongue, and he took her hand in his own, holding it to his heart. "I can't be your friend anymore. I can't just sit and pretend that like I have a chance when you so obviously love James- of all people."

"But," Lily choked, her swimming with tears as she moved forward to embrace him, the food tray clattering to the floor, and she flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I love you, too, Sev. I need you."

"I know," Severus said softly, lifting her chin up to look into her eyes- they were wide and glassy with tears and for a moment she looked just like little girl he had met before they had went to Hogwarts and he longed to forget about his convictions, but he forced himself to remain absolute. "And I love you too, Lily, more than you could ever fathom, but it means something different than what you feel. It's enough- at least not for now."

"So- so this- this is good- goodbye?" Lily stammered, nearly inaudible through her sobs, clinging tighter still, staining his robes a darker shade of black with her tears.

"Yes- for now." He said, his voice cracking despite his efforts to keep himself under control. His glassy gaze flew to the clock before he continued. "My five minutes are up."

"Goodbye, Sev." Lily choked into the crook of his neck. "I love you."

"I love you too, Lily- I always will, no matter what happens or how far apart we are, I will never stop loving you." He pulled her tight into his arms, holding her there for a few moments before releasing her. He got to his feet and kissed her forehead gently, rubbing the side of her cheek with his thumb. "I will never forget you, Lily."

~*~ Later That Night ~*~

Too upset for any more words, Lily just sat there, crying, clutching the blanket close to her chest as if they could cover the gaping hole Severus's absense left in her heart as the door closed behind him. If it wasn't for the firm, gentle hands that wrapped themselves around her she wouldn't even have noticed someone had entered the wing. She clung to James in desperation, unable to quell her tears or shake the sobs, shaking with remorse.

How long she stayed that way she had no idea only that she cried well into the night. Sometime much later she lay silently in on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, cradled against James's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart, wide awake as she watched the fir crackle in the hearth, despite the passion she cried with, as he gently stroked her glistening hair. Finally, rolled over onto her side so was looking at his face and the overwhelming guilt she felt made her want to cry again.

James's face was pale and painted with so many expressions at the same time- pain, sadness, fear, anxiety, anger, and, the worst, self-doubt. In that moment he looked as though he had aged years. Poor James; how could she do this to him? So many times she had rejected and insulted him, but this was the worse by far. It took her a while to find her voice to speak and she finally did it was hoarse from all the crying.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, James." Lily said softly, but with conviction, trying to convey just how sorry she truly was. She caressed the side of his face with her hand, bringing her face close to his as she spoke. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Lily- the only thing that hurts me is watching you in pain. Are you sure this is what you really want? That I'm what you want?" James said quietly, his tone worried.

"Yes, I am- I love you, James. I can't bear to be without you." Lily insisted, sincerely

"But, Lily, clearly you have feelings for-"

"No. I did love Severus- but not the way you think. He was like a brother to me. He along with Lauren was one of my earliest childhood friends." Lily explained.

James didn't respond, unconvinced- he had stopped combing his fingers through her hair and was staring vacantly up at the ceiling. Determined to convince him, Lily propped up on her elbows and leaned over him, her long, silky red hair falling in a curtain around their faces, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Earlier, when you asked if I remembered anything about what had happened at the lake?" She said, looking deeply into his grey eyes.

"Yes." He grunted.

"I lied when I said I didn't remember. There is one thing I do remember- when I fell through that ice I thought about you. I thought 'I'm never going to see James again, I'll never get to tell him how absolutely head-over-heels in love him, how I'd never get to show him how much I truly loved him.' James, I love you so much that it hurts. Every second I'm with you makes it so much more unbearable because I know I'll have to say goodbye to you at the end of the day. And when I'm away from I can't stop thinking about you- all I want is to be in your arms again." Finally she ended her longwinded speech, and she watched his face, waiting for his response.

After a moment or two the corner of his mouth turned up into a lopsided grin, and he spoke , a note of interest and curiousity in his voice. "Show me?"

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Lily grinned, a genuine, brilliant smile. Still smiling she rolled on top of James and kissed him passionately- his lips, his neck, and finally his chest- right where his heart sat, that beautiful heart of his that was so sweet, so loving, and thoughtful and forgiving.

James responded eagerly, deepening the kiss before pulling away from her and rolling her gently onto the floor until he hovered over her. "I always was better at show than tell." He said with a grin.

Lily giggled and kissed him again, tangling her fingers in his hair, her heart swelling so much that she felt it might just explode out of her chest. She couldn't see herself ever being away from her after this, nor could she ever imagine herself being able to keep hands off of him. Neither could she ever see him being content without touching her. So she was quite taken by surprise when he suddenly pulled away from her, jumping up, away from her.

"What is it?" She asked, alarmed.

"Wait right here. I want to do this right." He said, gesturing with his hands before dashing up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

Baffled, Lily sat up, crawling to sit on the warm, thick rug beside the fireplace and for him return. After a few moments he came dashing down the stairs, something small clutched in his hand. He shocked her further still by kneeling on one knee before her and kissing her hand. Finally he opened his clenched hand and she felt her heart skip a beat. In his palm sat a small velvet jewelry box.

"Lily, I love you. I love you with all of my heart and every fiber in my being and I always will." James said, slowly opening the box and revealing a small, delicate gold engagement ring, laid with a beautiful diamond heart, which he then removed and held up for her to see. "And so I ask you, Lily Evans to give me the wonderful honor of marrying you."

Shocked and completely flabbergasted, all Lily could do was stare gape-mouthed at the thing for a moment. Of all the things she hadn't expected this. At last she found her voice, but even then it only came out in a sharp gasp. "Yes," she breathed.

"Well, then, Mrs. Potter, you have just made me the happiest man in the universe." James said, sliding the ring onto her finger and then pinning her on all fours. "I promise you will never regret it…"


End file.
